South West Water hosepipe ban to be extended to parts of Devon

A water company is introducing a hosepipe ban in large parts of Devon to help replenish supplies.

South West Water (SWW) said the ban would be expanded to areas serviced by Roadford reservoir from 25 April.

Major population centres, including Plymouth, Barnstaple, Tavistock and Torbay, are all located in the expanded water restriction area.

The ban, originally introduced in August 2022, had only been covering Cornwall and part of north Devon.

It comes after SWW warned water levels in Devon and Cornwall remained under "immense and increasing pressure" despite recent rainfall.

The utility said the extended hosepipe ban would help improve water levels in rivers and reservoirs ahead of summer.

Reservoir levels are reported to be 17% lower than at the same time last year.

Roadford reservoir was at about 70% capacity, while Colliford reservoir was at about 60%, according to SWW's most recent figures.

Across its network, total storage is at about 80% capacity, the figures showed.

SWW resilience director David Harris said recent rainfall had not improved the situation greatly.

He told the BBC: "Whilst we have had some good rain in the last couple of weeks, it has only lifted that storage by 0.8%."

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