EARLIER this week, MP Ian Liddell-Grainger warned that work needs to start as rapidly as possible on increasing the capacity of the largest reservoir in the southwest if chronic water shortages are to be avoided.

He said: “The original design of the Wimbleball dam allowed for this to happen at some future point and in my opinion that point has now been reached,” he said.

“Wimbleball was the last major storage facility to be built in the southwest and it is clear that in its present form it is inadequate to meet the increased demands from thousands of new homes, particularly during prolonged hot, dry weather.”

In response, a spokesperson for South West Water has said: “We are taking a number of measures to increase water resilience and storage across the region.

"Reservoir levels at Wimbleball remain very low currently, due to the unprecedented drought and dry weather this year.

"We are planning and investing for the future today, investing in new reservoirs and finding innovative ways to collect, store and treat water."

South West Water also confirmed that Mr Liddell-Grainger's statement that SWW did not introduce any restrictions this summer is incorrect.

In August they introduced a Temporary Use Ban or hosepipe ban for people in Cornwall and the Upper Tamar region in Northern Devon.

They also run an enhanced campaign to encourage customers to bring down their usage and recently launched a new Stop The Drop campaign, calling on everyone to collectively only use water when it’s essential.

The spokesperson added: "For our region, this includes Stannon Lake, Porth Reservoir and our most recent acquisition, Hawkstor, a redundant china clay pit.

"These additional resources will provide up to 30% of the region’s water requirement in the future. This is alongside an investment of £27 million in our water grid, ensuring we can move water where it’s most needed.”

It should be also noted that Wimbleball Lake supplies water to both South West Water and Wessex Water customers – not just SWW.