South West Water hosepipe ban extends to 390,000 more homes

A hosepipe ban has come into force across large parts of Devon.

South West Water (SWW) said the extended restriction would help replenish water supplies at Roadford reservoir ahead of the summer.

The utility said about 390,000 homes in Devon would be affected by the latest restriction.

An initial ban, which is still in place after being introduced in August 2022, covers Cornwall and a small part of north Devon.

Towns and a city, including Plymouth, Barnstaple, Tavistock and Torquay, are all in the new water restriction area.

They join more than 250,000 households in Cornwall and north Devon already covered by the initial ban, meaning some 640,000 households are now affected.

During the 2022 heatwave, the Environment Agency declared that most of England was officially in drought.

Now only East Anglia, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly continue to retain that status.

The ban means households cannot use a hose for activities such as gardening or washing a car. Businesses are exempt.

At the scene: Michael Chequer, BBC Radio Devon, at Roadford reservoir

It was a tranquil start to the day at Roadford reservoir and it all looked very pretty.

But I had to walk 5m or 6m further than expected to get to its water line, which is not what the water level should be.

We expect reservoirs to fill up in January, February and March, and then slowly empty as the year goes on.

But, despite a lot of rain over the past couple of months, Roadford is only at 66%, which is the same level it was at last July.

Most of Devon had escaped the hosepipe ban so far, but not now.

David Harris, SWW drought and resilience director, said the ban was estimated to reduce demand by about 5%.

"We understand that our customers don't like these measures... [but] it's actually the responsible thing for us to do at this time ahead of that peak summer demand," he said.

Reservoir levels across SWW's network are reported to be 17% lower than at the same time in 2022 - some of the lowest water levels in the country - despite this March being one of the wettest on record.

Roadford reservoir, which services Devon, is at about 66% capacity, and Colliford reservoir, servicing Cornwall, is at about 60%, according to SWW's most recent figures.

Dr Peter Melville-Shreeve, at the Centre for Water Systems at the University of Exeter, said water systems were "a complex beast".

He said reservoir levels for affected regions were "lower than we want them to be" and companies were "taking steps for making it through the summer".

He said it was "the wettest March since 1981, after a dry February, and last summer being the driest in 30 years".

South West Water provides water and sewerage services to Devon and Cornwall, as well as small parts of Dorset and Somerset.

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