A water company has unleashed two specially trained dogs on the scent of pesky leaks.

Kilo and Denzel, two springer spaniels, are South West Water’s (SWW) new leak-busting secret weapon in sniffing out the plague of pipework leaks.

The top dogs in the company’s workforce are trained to detect subtle traces of chlorine in drinking water, so they can tell the difference between a water leak and a natural pool of water. These skills, alongside their ability to cover large areas of rural land, make them the perfect tool for hard to find leaks.

The spaniel’s sensitive noses have helped SWW repair more than 23,000 leaks across Devon and Cornwall over the last 12 months. They form an elite detection squad along with satellites, drones, acoustic logging, network monitoring, increasing field detection teams and leak detection technology, as part of SWW’s work to tackle leakage and improve network resilience across the region.

Alistair Milton, of SWW, said: “Reducing leakage is so important to us, especially with parts of the region in severe drought status, where saving water is critical for everyone.

“We know customers rightly expect us to do everything possible to reduce water lost from our network, and we have recruited around 40 new leakage technicians this year as well as moving teams into areas where their work can have the greatest impact.

“This is helping us repair an average of 440 leaks each week and by using advanced monitoring systems, acoustic sensors and leak detection dogs, we can find issues earlier, minimise water loss and ensure more water reaches customers when they need it most.”

Extended periods of heat can cause the ground to dry out, shrink, and shift, placing additional stress on underground pipework and increasing the likelihood of pipes bursting.

Drought conditions continue across much of England, and the Environment Agency has now announced that parts of Cornwall, Devon and West Dorset have entered severe drought status, making it more important to continue tackling leaks.