South West reservoir levels recovering, water company says

Reservoir levels recovering, water company says Image source, South West Water Image caption, Wimbleball Reservoir has increased to 18% full after dropping to a record low of 12% in August By Britta Zeltmann , Zhara Simpson , South West and Kirk England , South West environment and tourism correspondent Published 4 November 2026, 06:06 GMT Updated 17 minutes ago Reservoir levels across the South West are starting to recover after recent rainfall, a water company boss has said.

Richard Stanbrook, drought resilience director for Pennon which owns South West Water, said every reservoir in the South West was on an "upward trajectory" with "continued recovery" expected. Drought was declared by the Environment Agency for more than half of England in June before escalating it to a severe drought in October with Wimbleball Reservoir on Exmoor dropping to a record low level of just 12% full. Stanbrook said the hosepipe ban was having a "positive impact" on improving levels but the amount of rainfall in coming months was paramount to them becoming full again.

How close are we to running out of water? Published 5 days ago South West Water waiting for 'recharge season' Published 22 October Saving water must be year-round not just summer Published 17 October Stanbrook said: "We're very pleased with the recent recovery we've seen at a number of our reservoirs following the rain over the last few days. "We've seen them go up between 2% and 15% across the board." Stanbrook said the smaller reservoirs such as Venford was 50% full as of Tuesday and larger ones such as Wimbleball had gone up to 18% which was "really encouraging".

"We are looking to see far more rain to achieve that improved level, so we've got ourselves out of that low spot - every reservoir is now on the upward trajectory in their levels." He said the water company had been working closely with the Environment Agency to optimise extractions from rivers and pumping into reservoirs. "We've been maintaining those and making sure they're at their best position so when the water does come and the rains do come we can transfer as much water as we can into our reservoirs."

Image caption, Richard Stanbrook said every reservoir in the South West was on an "upward trajectory" Although the increasing levels in our reservoirs will be welcomed by many, the pressure is not off. The Environment Agency, the environmental regulator, has already warned that England needs at least 20% more rainfall than average to be out of drought by the spring. Areas that are in severe drought, including parts of the South West, will need even more than that.

This drought has been different to previous severe droughts, like the one in 1976, in that it developed very quickly and was more of a flash drought - something scientists say is consistent with a changing climate. While officials insist water supplies are secure and households are not at risk of running out of water, this summer has exposed the potential impact of prolonged heat and a lack of rainfall. Reservoirs now face a crucial winter recharge period and after the hottest summer on record the region's water levels will remain under close scrutiny in the months ahead. 'Heeded the message' Stanbrook said this year's severe drought had made the company realise customer water-saving measures, such as not letting the tap run when cleaning teeth and taking shorter showers, needed to become "lifetime behaviours".

He said the hosepipe ban was having a "positive impact" as it usually achieved a 3% reduction in demand but people needed to keep it in place a "little longer whilst the recovery establishes itself". "I'm really pleased to say our customers are certainly reducing the water they use - you saw that over the summer with the brown lawns. "People weren't watering their lawns, they heeded the message." He said there was no end date for the hosepipe ban as it was linked to rainfall.

"The Met Office is forecasting a hot 2027, so a lot of our focus is about setting ourselves up for next year... to make sure we have as much raw water available to us... "The key is having that water for the hot summer next year." Follow BBC Cornwall on X , external , Facebook , external and Instagram , external . Follow BBC Devon on X , external , Facebook , external and Instagram , external . Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk , external .

Related topics Cornwall Devon Drought Water More on this story How close are we to running out of water? Published 5 days ago South West Water waiting for 'recharge season' Published 22 October Saving water must be year-round not just summer Published 17 October Severe drought declared in parts of southern England Published 15 October Related links South West Water Environment Agency