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Abingdon Reservoir: Vale of White Horse District Council criticises plans

Thames Water How a proposed reservoir might look likeThames Water
A reservoir plan has been floated for the area since the 1990s

A planned £1.244bn reservoir could have a "serious impact on the environment", a local authority has warned.

Thames Water wants to build a reservoir between East Hanney and Drayton, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, covering seven sq km (4.5 sq miles).

But Vale of White Horse District Council said it should drop the plans and focus on fixing leaks.

Thames Water said the need for the reservoir was "critical", and that reducing leaks remained a "priority".

Oxfordshire County Council criticised the plans back in January, calling them "destructive", "baffling", and with the potential to cause "very significant civil unrest".

In its own response to the public consultation, the district council said it wants the water company to forget the so-called South East Strategic Reservoir Option and instead prioritise "efforts on improving water efficiency and fixing leaks".

Thames Water Abingdon reservoir plansThames Water
The reservoir would hold the equivalent of 40,000 Olympic swimming pools

It also says the plan...

  • Over-estimates future population figures for the region
  • Increases carbon emissions, adversely affecting the Vale's aim to become a carbon neutral district by 2045
  • Could impact flood risk, the landscape, and protected species in the local area
  • Does not consider alternative solutions, such as transferring water from other areas to meet local demand

Bethia Thomas, leader of the council, said: "Building a reservoir would cause permanent and irreversible harm to an enormous area of the Vale countryside and potentially result in a significant increase in carbon emissions."

She said the priority should be "using water more effectively; through fixing leaks, facilitating water recycling and ensuring that residents across the region can play an active and positive role in reducing their consumption".

She added that there were "many better and more innovative solutions than a reservoir" which would "cost less and be far less destructive for the environment".

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We're proposing to invest in several new strategic schemes that will provide water to Oxfordshire and the south east, including the new reservoir.

"Other proposed options include a new river abstraction at Teddington supported by water recycling, transfers with Affinity and Southern Water to enable effective sharing of resources and transfer from the River Severn to Thames."

They said they were "still in the very early stages of consultation and design" and had "listened and responded to questions raised by the local community".

The public consultation remains open until 21 March.

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