Will reservoir solve water problems?

1:20pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

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A CONSULTATION is under way to see if a mammoth £1bn reservoir will be built 30 minutes away from Swindon.

Thames Water says the artificial lake needs to be created in the region to compensate for future water loss they suspect will be caused by population growth and the effects of climate change.

The design calls for the biggest reservoir in the UK to be built between Abingdon and Wantage, Oxfordshire, and is expected to hold half the volume of water in Lake Windermere.

Thames Water, which says the reservoir will serve Swindon, Oxford and London, wants the work to be completed by 2021 but says its benefits will also be strongly felt in Swindon.

It also believes the lake, which has so far been a talking point with residents groups in neighbouring towns, will serve the areas for at least 25 years after its completion.

Don Sharples, a spokesman for Thames Water, says the steps are being taken proactively to avoid the affects of changing climate.

He said: "Our forecasts show more than 1m people will be moving into the Thames Water catchment area, which stretches from London and the Thames Valley over the next 25 years.

"Also we suspect that climate change will force water levels down five per cent, and force rain to fall at different times, meaning longer, drier summers, and shorter, wetter winters.

"This means we will have to catch more rain in the winter and use it during the summer.

"We need our reservoirs to be bigger than the current smaller ones to catch more water.

"People can live without power for a few days, but everyone needs water to survive."

He said more than 70 sites were originally looked at for the reservoir, but believes the Abingdon site is much better suited.

"The site is on less productive, arable land. We have based it on cost, proximity to river, proximity to service area, level of disruption," said Mr Sharples.

"People are saying we are taking too much out of rivers, so we need to cut back."

He says the reservoir is only one small part of plans to transform the region into a water powerhouse rather than one that will suffer from shortages in 10 years' time.

He says plans are afoot to continue to reduce leakage, extending the amount of meters which they hope will reduce water consumption, and increase water efficiency.

The consultation on the proposed reservoir ends on August 27 and anyone with an opinion should visit the website www.thameswaterconsult.co.uk.

Campaign battles on
NICK Thompson, chairman of the Group Against Reservoir Development,(GARD),is campaigning against the reservoir.

He believes it is unnecessary, as cheaper alternatives have been ignored.

He says that for Thames Water, a monopoly provider, the Abingdon reservoir is attractive, but for the customer it is by far the most expensive choice.

And he thinks it is certainly not in the best interests of the consumers who will have to fund the project.

He said: "There is absolutely no need for a reservoir for the Swindon area.

"We can get water down from the Oxford Canal, which comes down from Birmingham and the Severn.

"That is certainly an option, which would produce more water.

"Thames Water have not justified the need, and GARD has submitted more appropriate and cheaper alternatives.

"Allowing for demand overestimates and for reasonable rather than excessive contingency, the reservoir option would not be needed, at least for the span of the next 25 years."

Inquiry call into plans
MEMBERS of the Vale of White Horse District Council unanimously called for a public inquiry into Thames Water¹s reservoir plans.

The demand was made on Wednesday night as part of the Vale's response to Thames Water's draft Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which identifies how the company will secure water supply for the 25 years between 2010 and 2035.

A major component of the WRMP is Thames Water¹s proposal to build the largest reservoirs in the country in the heart of the Vale.

If approved, the 25-metre high bunded reservoir will be built on land between Steventon, East Hanney and Drayton.

The council has until the August 27 to respond to Thames's draft WRMP, which will be submitted to the Secretary of State.

If the WRMP is approved, with the reservoir included, it will signify an approval to the principle of the reservoir.