Debates over Thames Water’s £7.5bn Oxfordshire reservoir

The White Horse Reservoir, near Abingdon, will provide water for 15 million people across the south east.

The project has been labelled a “vital piece of national water infrastructure” by Thames Water.

But, in a statement action group ‘Group Against Reservoir Development’ called the reservoir the wrong solution in the wrong place.

But some residents suggested the group should see the reality of the situation arguing the country desperately needs the reservoir and new reservoirs haven’t been built in decades.

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Leonie Dubois, left, head of engagement for Thames Water (Image: Thames Water)

They said Thames Water should instead fix the leaks across their water system, saying the reservoir will wreck wildlife and farmland and will cost billions – coming out customers pockets.

The massive reservoir, which will cover an area the size of Gatwick Airport, has always been a topic of debate.

Only Kielder Water in Northumberland, at 200 billion litres, is bigger.

Two groups, Countryside charity CPRE Oxfordshire and Safer Waters, even sought a judicial review at the High Court.

However, their judicial review was dismissed.

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An artist’s impression of the new reservoir (Image: Thames Water)

Thames Water revealed that costs for the controversial proposed Abingdon Reservoir soared from £2.2 billion to between £5.5 billion and £7.5 billion, a tripling of the original figure

This will be borne by customers of Thames Water, Affinity Water, and Southern Water.

The plan is to tackle an anticipated shortfall of more than a billion litres of water per day in the next 50 years, according to Thames Water.

This projection considers the effects of population growth and climate change.

Thames Water predicts that a severe drought could cost London’s economy alone as much as £500m a day.

Currently, hosepipe bans are already a common occurrence.

The Abingdon Reservoir, also known as the South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO), is expected to be the second largest reservoir in the UK, with a capacity of 150 billion litres.

Only Kielder Water in Northumberland, at 200 billion litres, is bigger.

The site is located three miles southwest of Abingdon.

It is close to the River Thames and features the right geology and ground conditions for a reservoir.

Thames Water has had to plan for more than just the reservoir itself.

The project will include a pumping station, a conveyance tunnel to transfer flows to and from the River Thames near Culham, and infrastructure to link the reservoir to the River Thames for emergency drawdown.

An access road into the site, a temporary rail siding for freight train deliveries, and a compensatory floodplain are also part of the plan.

Local streams will be diverted, and the Steventon–Hanney road will be shifted to the south.

The reservoir will also have space reserved for a future Thames-to-Southern Transfer Water Treatment Works, which would allow reservoir water to be piped down to Hampshire, Southern Water’s territory.