SOUTH West Water has admitted that water restrictions for households may need to be brought if the hot dry weather continues – with Burrator reservoir, which provides the Tavistock area with water, now being less than half full.

As this picture taken with a drone by Plymouth-based photographer Sam Hussey shows, the reservoir level is falling to its lowest level for years.

Sam visits the reservoir regularly with his partner and always takes photos of the reservoir. ‘Everytime we go it gets lower and lower,’ he said. ‘Last Tuesday it was the lowest I have ever seen it.’

South West Water’s latest figures on the ‘storage capacity’ of its reservoirs, released on July 31, show that the reservoir has now dropped below the level of 1995, the driest summer in recent years. Burrator Reservoir was at the start of the week standing at 44.6% of its total capacity, down from 53.3% at the start of the month. This is lower than in 1995 when it fell to 55% full.

A South West Water spokesperson said: ‘We continue to experience an unprecedented and prolonged period of hot and dry weather, alongside extremely high levels of demand. We are sharing water saving tips and advice with customers and urging everyone to think carefully about their water usage and to avoid non-essential water use, such as using a hosepipe in the garden and for washing cars.

‘If the exceptional levels of demand and sustained dry weather continues we may have to make the difficult decision to introduce formal restrictions over the coming weeks to limit the pressure on resources and to protect the environment.

‘We continue to review our position and will keep customers and communities fully informed via our website, social media channels as well as through the media.’