Householders are to be offered a rebate on their water bill if they can reduce water usage enough to refill a reservoir in a first-of-its-kind scheme. If one vital reservoir is boosted to 30% of its capacity by the end of this year, customers will get a £30 rebate on their water bills.
South West Water today announced the customer incentive scheme, asking everyone in Cornwall to help recharge reservoir levels. "Stop the Drop" will see customers offered a financial incentive to encourage them to reduce consumption in exchange for a rebate on their bill.
If Colliford reservoir recovers to 30% by 31 December 2022, customers in Cornwall will receive a £30 rebate on their bill.
2022 has seen the lowest level of rainfall in the South West for 130 years, which has been combined with a very hot summer and elevated customer demand. Significant pressure has been placed on water resources in parts of the region, with river flows and reservoir levels in Cornwall reaching historically low levels this summer.
If Colliford reservoir recovers to 30% capacity by 31 December 2022, the payment of the financial incentive to customers would result in a reduction to (non-underlying) revenue of £10 million in H2 2022/23. Alongside providing over 45,000 water saving devices to customers, South West Water will continue with targeted operational activities such as customer leak repairs.
The Group is also pursuing longer-term investments to secure future supplies, including the new Cheddar 2 reservoir in the Bristol region.
