LOCAL people have not all reacted kindly to a recent announcement from South West Water.

The utility company has pledged to credit everyone’s bill in the county with £30 if Colliford Lake reaches 30% of its fullest level by the end of this year.

The reservoir, Cornwall’s largest inland water body, has been at a record low of 15% in recent weeks.

A hosepipe ban has been in place, and South West Water’s Stop The Drop campaign has been encouraging customers to conserve water in their homes.

But many people went onto the SWW Facebook page to ask the company to fix some of the leaks around Cornwall more speedily before asking customers to take shorter showers.

And some asked why water from other fuller reservoirs could not be pumped to Colliford.

Staff on South West Water’s communications team have been giving some detailed responses to those who get in touch – on one recent Facebook post, there were more than 130 comments from the public.

SWW says that despite recent large amounts of rainfall, the heatwave earlier in the year caused reservoir levels to drop dramatically – and that when the ground is dry, the water in subsequent rainfall is not absorbed into the ground.

A spokesperson said: “During the winter months, when river levels are healthy, we abstract water from rivers with the reservoirs providing back-up supplies.

“The river and reservoir systems are linked together by a network of pipes, which enable us to transfer water around the region.

“In regards to fixing leaks, we fix nearly 2,000 leaks a month and have halved leakage levels in the region.

“We employ 140 leak detectors who proactively find and fix leaks. We’re targeting a further 15% reduction in leakage by 2025.

“We do encourage customers to report leaks to us, as with over 9,320 miles of pipework, detecting and repairing them can be a challenge.”