Water industry regulator Ofwat has today announced that it will investigate recent failures to meet leakage targets by a number of UK water companies. Ofwat said the failures sent a "poor signal" about how the companies value water.

 Fifteen water companies met their leakage targets in 2010-11, reducing leakage by a total of 15Ml/d – the equivalent of supplying a city about the size of Exeter with water for a year.

Ofwat has now said it will carry out investigations into the six other water companies who reported that they failed their leakage targets for 2010-11

The companies that have failed are:

• Anglian Water
• Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water)
• Northumbrian Water (North East operating area)
• Severn Trent Water
• Southern Water
• Yorkshire Water

In a statement the regulator said that missing leakage targets is a serious failure. Where companies have consistently failed to manage leakage in the past, Ofwat has made them invest £195 million from their own pockets putting the problem right.

Ofwat said that as the water companies ask their customers to conserve water and use it wisely, in return customers have a right to expect that their water company meets its commitments and obligations. The failures sent a poor signal about how the companies value water.

Further information will be published once investigations into the failures are complete.

Southern Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water (North East) failed their leakage targets for 2009-10. Following their failure in 2009-10 Yorkshire Water and Southern Water have both taken out informal undertakings to improve their leakage performance.

2010-11 Company failures