South West Water has announced that it will pay £250 in compensation to approximately 13,000 households affected by a major water outage in Plymouth, Tavistock, and Torquay earlier this month.
The incident, caused by the sudden rupture of a critical 600mm diameter water main supplying the Dousland Water Treatment Works, left thousands of residents without running water for several days.
According to a report by GB News, the water provider has confirmed that compensation will be automatically credited to customers’ accounts.
South West Water described the payment as a goodwill gesture that exceeds statutory requirements, aiming to recognise the significant inconvenience experienced by affected communities.
The Incident and Initial Response
The disruption occurred on April 20 when a 600mm diameter pipe supplying raw water to the Dousland Water Treatment Works suffered a sudden and significant burst. The rupture left around 13,000 properties without running water across the affected areas.
By April 22, approximately 9,500 properties were still without water. South West Water worked intensively to restore the supply, providing bottled water at distribution points for affected residents. David Harris, managing director for water services at South West Water, said the aim was to “have everyone back on water by the time they wake up in the morning.”
On April 23, a spokesman for South West Water confirmed: “we are pleased to say that customers should now be back in supply.”
Details of the Compensation Package
South West Water has announced a compensation plan that exceeds the statutory requirements for service interruptions.
Households will automatically receive £250, credited directly to their accounts, as a gesture of goodwill.
Under current regulations, the statutory compensation for water supply interruptions is £20 for the first 12 hours without service and £10 for each subsequent 24-hour period. A spokesman for South West Water emphasised:
“This is over and above the current statutory amounts of £20 per 12 hours, and £10 per subsequent 24-hour period.”
According to the company’s internal customer guarantee scheme:
- Domestic customers would typically be entitled to £50 for the first 12 hours without service,
- Plus £50 for each additional 12-hour period.
For business customers, the structure is:
- £100 for each 12-hour period without service,
- Plus £100 for every additional 12-hour window.
Despite these policies, South West Water has chosen to award fixed compensations :
- £250 for each affected household,
- £500 for affected businesses.
Businesses can also apply for further compensation to cover additional losses resulting from the service interruption.
Customer Communication and Goodwill Efforts
All affected customers will receive formal letters confirming the details of their compensation. South West Water confirmed that no action is needed from residential customers to receive the £250 payment, as it will be automatically credited.
During the disruption, South West Water teams distributed bottled water to those without supply. In a statement on April 23, a spokesman said:
“We want to apologise again for the inconvenience this has caused, but we would also like to thank all of our customers for their patience and kindness to our teams on the ground providing bottled water.”
The company has framed the compensation as an effort to recognize the inconvenience caused and to maintain customer trust.
The extended outage prompted public reactions, including from Fred Thomas, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, who described the situation as unacceptable.
South West Water has acknowledged the concerns raised by public representatives and stressed its commitment to improving infrastructure resilience to prevent similar incidents in the future.
