ABOUT a year ago South West Water received a joint letter from the Environment Agency, Ofwat and Defra.

It was addressed to the Group Drought and Resilience Director and concerned the water resources management plan (WRMP) Annual Review 2025. It was the sixth such annual letter in a row.

In short, it highlighted that SWW was continuing to fail to meet its targets especially around leakages.

As such it was putting the water supply to customers and protection of the environment at risk.

Now, with a hot summer and a dry September, those warnings have come home to roost and Devon has been declared in severe drought.

During this protracted period of failure, SWW has continued to pay out hundreds of millions in shareholder dividends (£138 million in the last financial year) and bonuses to executives.

A sorry tale of rewarding failure in corporate Britain while water taxpayers and the environment pick up the tab. And all of this is happening in plain sight.

Putting aside the criminal actions of releasing sewage into our waterways, it’s another example of greed trumping the wider public good. The regulators know it; the government know it and yet nothing happens.

No wonder the public are angry and frustrated. I share that anger.

Very encouraged to hear what the new prime minister is saying around public utilities and water in particular. Not so encouraged to see the actions of his government and statement from his water minister so far on this impending crisis.

The minister states they are taking measures to protect customer supplies. Nothing wrong with that, it’s the responsible thing to do.

But what do those measures entail? SWW can now extract more water from our rivers and/or not release water into them.

They can also ban the use of water for non-essential businesses. In other words, damage and destroy ecosystems and our environment and impose punitive measures on companies and individuals with no compensation.

Hardly holding SWW to account.

Don’t mind being told to conserve water, and I know Devon residents will act responsibly, but where are the rebukes or sanctions on SWW. It’s almost as if it’s our fault and good old government and SWW will dig us out of this hole.

No, it’s a failure of water companies and regulators ably abetted by successive complicit governments. The time for talking is over, we want action now.

We could start by holding executives to account and where criminal activity has occurred, take appropriate action. Enough promises of more local control or ownership and actually legislate to bring that about.

I know some people have been criticising councils for building new houses when it’s clear the water infrastructure (and the rest) can’t hope.

It’s important to remember these house numbers have been imposed on local councils by central government.

We’re in the ridiculous position where water companies are not even statutory consultees in planning applications.

Water is fast becoming the acid test for the new prime minister and his administration. Residents are watching and they want decisive action.