Government approval paves way for new Thames Water ‘mega-reservoir’ in South Oxford

The government has endorsed Thames Water’s plans to manage water supply for the next 50 years, paving the way for a controversial new £1.5bn ‘mega-reservoir’ in South Oxford.

Steve Reed, the environment minister, has approved the embattled water firm’s proposal—called its Water Resource Management Plans—in which the firm maps out its strategy to secure the water supply for the next 50 years.

The Environment Agency has already designated London and the South East as being ‘seriously water stressed’. Due to climate change and population growth, the region is expected to face growing pressures on its water supply.

Thames forecasts its catchment area will need an additional 1bn litres of water daily by 2050, enough to fill approximately 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The firm’s proposal to meet these pressures is underpinned by a commitment to reduce leakage by more than 50 per cent in 25 years, and reduce daily water use from 140 litres per person to 110 litres.

In backing the plans, the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs has also implicitly supported a major reservoir and a river extraction project that have both been the subject of passionate local opposition.

The South East Strategic Reservoir Option, plans for which Thames is developing in conjunction with Affinity Water and Southern Water, would be the second-largest reservoir in the country and the largest in the South.

The 150 bn-litre reservoir would take 15 years to build and cost an estimated £1.5bn. It would also be the first reservoir built since the privatisation of the water sector over thirty years ago.

The reservoir is currently the subject of a public consultation and does not yet have planning permission.

Also given inferred approval is the Teddington Direct River Abstraction project, a new scheme in west London that would abstract water from the Thames during severe drought events and replace it with treated discharge.

But local campaigners have opposed both projects, with some Teddington residents concerned that the discharge Thames Water would use to compensate the abstraction will be of lower quality than the river.

Chris Weston, CEO of Thames Water, said: “I welcome the Secretary of State’s approval of our plan, which is a vital step as we work to secure future water supply for millions of people across the South East.    

“In delivering this plan we will invest in new world-class infrastructure projects, continue to drive down leakage and reduce demand for water. In turn this will significantly reduce our reliance on groundwater sources that draw from chalk streams, protecting the local environment.”