SEVERN Trent Water is one of the worst performing water companies at reducing leaks according to new figures.

New figures on the water industry's performance on water leakage have been shared by the Water Services Regulation Authority.

Ofwat has shared that three-quarters of the companies are meeting their leakage targets and some have reduced leakage by more than 10% over the past two years

According to the figures, Severn Trent Water has a leakage reduction percentage of 3.4%, which is the second worst performing business in the industry.

Ofwat has strongly pushed companies to cut leakage over recent years, including challenging the sector to reduce leakage by at least 16% in the 5-year period up to 2025.

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A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We deliver two billion litres of water and take away 3.1 billion litres of wastewater every day across our network of 140,000 kilometres of pipes.

"We’re committed to reducing leakage by 15% by 2025 - the biggest reduction ever in a five-year period - and we’re already making made good progress, such as investment in drone technology to detect leaks.”

The figures show that progress has been made, with industry-wide leakage being reduced by 11% since 2017-18, heading towards the target of a 50% reduction by 2050. However, there is more that can be done.

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David Black, Ofwat CEO commented: "It is encouraging to see progress in tackling leakage, with some companies making significant reductions.

"We welcome the improvements companies have made in reducing leakage and it's encouraging to see things heading in the right direction.

"That said, there is much further to go. In the drier weather, we are all acutely aware of the impact of climate change and the value and importance of water.

"Customers rightly expect water companies to lead by example in caring for water and helping households to do the same."

The full list is as follows: 

These provisional figures from the water companies will be validated by Ofwat over the coming months.

Further detail on water company performance on leakage will be available when Ofwat publishes the Service and Delivery Report 21-22 later this year.