Down the Plughole: why is our water so expensive? PDF Print E-mail
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Down the Plughole: why is our water so expensive?
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Factbox - Water Usage

- The average Cornishman will use 35 gallons (that’s 159 litres) of water each day
- Cornwall’s main supply of water is at the Colliford reservoir on Bodmin Moor
- If laid end to end, South West Water’s water mains would reach from Launceston to Australia
- Through repair work and detecting leaks, South West Water saves enough water each day to meet the domestic needs of every Cornish customer

Since water privatisation under the Conservative government, £1.5 billion has been spent on improvements to sewerage infrastructure and cleaning up the South West’s beaches.

In the last year, how has some of that money been spent in Cornwall?

- A £1 million scheme in Mevagissey, renovating more than 300 metres of sewers around the harbour area
- A £1.3 million project to clean up Helford Creek, closing seven crude sewage outfalls and connecting 38 households to new sewers
- A £4.2 million scheme to reline and renovate 88 km of water mains between Bodmin Moor and Padstow
- A state-of-the-art sewage treatment works in St Agnes, worth £5.3 million, to improve bathing waters for swimmers and surfers
- A £5.7 million sewage treatment scheme for Sennen and Porthcurno