South West Water is offering a range of free water-saving devices to customers across its service area, as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce water demand and support households in managing costs. This initiative, known as the Come Rain or Shine campaign, follows a period of record-breaking summer heat in the UK and aims to promote year-round water efficiency. The water company has reported providing over 100,000 free devices to date, helping customers and businesses reduce their water usage and protect the region’s water supplies.
The campaign is designed to address increasing pressure on the South West’s natural resources, driven by higher demand and more erratic weather patterns linked to climate change. Recent rainfall has helped improve storage levels, but South West Water emphasises that continued water-saving behaviour is essential to recharge supplies ahead of future dry periods. Reducing water use not only supports environmental resilience but can also lower household costs, particularly for customers on water meters, by cutting both water and energy bills.
The Campaign and Its Objectives
The Come Rain or Shine campaign is a key part of South West Water’s broader Save Every Drop initiative, which highlights simple everyday changes to reduce water consumption. These include turning off taps while brushing teeth and taking shorter showers. The campaign’s goal is to encourage customers to be more water-aware throughout the year, irrespective of seasonal weather conditions.
Kim Williams, South West Water’s Head of Water Resources and Water Efficiency, has stated that customer action plays a vital role in adapting to increasingly unpredictable weather. The company notes that reducing water wastage now will help recharge supplies faster ahead of next summer, while also lowering energy bills for all customers and water bills for those on metered tariffs. The initiative forms part of the company’s wider strategy to strengthen long-term water resilience across the region.
Available Free Water-Saving Devices
Through the Come Rain or Shine campaign, customers can claim several free devices designed to identify leaks and reduce unnecessary water use at home. These devices are available at no cost and are delivered directly to households. The range includes:
- Buffaloo Cistern Bags: These are designed to reduce the volume of water used per flush in single-lever toilets without affecting performance. South West Water estimates that a family of four could save almost £100 per year by using these bags.
- LeakyLoo Detection Strips: These biodegradable and water-soluble strips are placed inside the toilet to identify hidden leaks. Undetected toilet leaks can waste thousands of litres of water annually, potentially adding hundreds of pounds to a metered water bill.
- Four-minute Shower Timers: These timers encourage shorter showers. The company calculates that cutting just one minute from a daily shower could save approximately £30 per person each year.
- Shower Flow Regulators: Fitted between the shower hose and head, this device limits water flow to seven litres per minute, reducing the amount of hot water used and consequently lowering energy consumption.
In addition to these devices, South West Water has also provided over 25,000 waterbutts in 100-litre and 200-litre capacities. These waterbutts help customers collect rainwater for garden use without relying on a hosepipe, storing over 3.8 million litres of water when full. The offer of these larger items is not explicitly detailed in the source data as part of the same online claim process, but they are mentioned as part of the company’s broader efforts to support water efficiency.
Eligibility and How to Claim
The free devices are available to South West Water customers. To obtain them, customers need to visit the company’s official website. The specific process involves navigating to the relevant section of the site, where more information about the Come Rain or Shine campaign can be found and the water-saving products can be ordered.
The dedicated webpage for this campaign is provided in the source material. Customers are directed to visit www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/your-services/save-water/come-rain-or-shine to find out more and place an order. The sources indicate that the devices are offered free of charge, with no mention of purchase requirements or subscription fees. The claim process appears to be a direct online request through the official channel.
It is important to note that the sources do not specify any geographic restrictions beyond the South West Water service area, which typically covers Cornwall, parts of Devon, and other areas in the South West of England. The offer is likely intended for domestic customers, as the devices are focused on household water use. The sources do not provide information on limits per household or expiration dates for the offer, but given the campaign’s ongoing nature, it is advisable for interested customers to check the website for the most current details.
Context of Water Usage and Leaks
The initiative is set against a backdrop of significant water conservation challenges in the region. South West Water reports that around 30% of water loss in the region comes from pipework owned by customers on private supplies. To address this, the company is actively helping customers and businesses to detect leaks on their properties and will repair them free of charge. This service complements the free devices, as identifying leaks is a critical first step in reducing water waste.
The company has also been tackling leakage on its own network, repairing more than 16,100 leaks last year and reducing leakage by over 10 million litres per day. Furthermore, a hosepipe ban has been in place in Cornwall and parts of North Devon since last year and was recently extended to other parts of Devon. These restrictions were introduced to protect water supplies following lower-than-average rainfall last year and throughout February.
Benefits of Participation
Participating in this free offer provides multiple benefits to UK consumers. Firstly, it directly reduces water consumption, which is both environmentally responsible and financially prudent. For households on a water meter, lower usage translates to lower bills. The estimated savings are tangible: a family of four could save nearly £100 annually on toilet flushing alone, and individuals could save around £30 per year by shortening their showers by one minute.
Secondly, the devices help identify and rectify leaks, which are a common source of hidden water waste and unnecessary expense. The LeakyLoo strips, in particular, offer an easy way to detect a problem that might otherwise go unnoticed. By fixing leaks, households can prevent significant water loss and avoid inflated bills.
Thirdly, the campaign fosters a sense of community and shared responsibility. By taking simple steps, customers contribute to the collective effort to build water resilience for the South West, a region increasingly affected by climate change and weather volatility. The waterbutts further support this by providing an alternative to using treated mains water for gardening.
Comparison with Other Free Sample Programmes
While the free water-saving devices from South West Water differ from typical consumer product samples (such as beauty or food trials), they share the core principle of providing a no-cost product trial to encourage behaviour change. Like other free sample programmes, the offer is designed to introduce customers to new products or tools—in this case, water-saving devices—with the aim of fostering long-term usage and brand loyalty.
However, unlike many commercial free samples, this programme is driven by a public utility’s conservation goals rather than a direct marketing or sales objective. There is no requirement to purchase a subsequent product or sign up for a paid service. The focus is purely on water efficiency and cost savings for the consumer. This makes it a unique type of freebie, accessible through a straightforward online request rather than a competitive sign-up process.
Sources
The information presented in this article is derived exclusively from the provided source material, which includes news reports and official company communications.
- South West Water Free Water-Saving Devices
- South West Water Latest News
- Cornish Stuff - South West Water Free Devices
The primary source for the claim process is the official South West Water website, as referenced in the source data.