Reservoir water levels low despite widespread flooding

Residents are questioning why a reservoir's water levels appear low despite the region experiencing heavy rain and severe flooding.

One said Farmoor Reservoir, near Oxford, looked like someone had "pulled the plug out".

The reservoir is filled by abstracting water from the River Thames.

But Thames Water said it was forced to pause the process due to the the amount of dirt and debris in the river water following Storm Henk.

Large parts of Oxfordshire experienced heavy flooding in the storm at the start of the year, with many houses and cars left submerged by the waters.

One nearby resident to Farmoor said: "It just seems really weird to us that the fields and the houses are flooded around in our area, and the waters gone down in the reservoir - it doesn't seem to make sense to us."

Another added that it seemed like "everywhere is completely underwater in Oxford, apart from the reservoir".

Farmoor is a popular spot for walking, sailing, bird spotting, and fishing.

Peter Devery, from the Angling Trust, said: "It is a bit startling when you have huge swathes of Oxfordshire underwater, and yet reservoirs are dropping in levels.

"Surely this is the time of the year when we should be recharging and preparing for the summer when no doubt we'll have another drought, another hosepipe ban."

Campaigners argue the company has, at least in part, made the situation worse, with pollutants like untreated sewage allowed to discharge from water treatment plants when they are overwhelmed during heavy rain.

Environmental consultant Vaughan Lewis said Thames Water had "pooed in their own nest".

He said: "We've got this double-edged sword, where you've polluted rivers, damaged wildlife, and also damaged their abilities to take water during high flows - which is when it should be taken."

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "Following Storm Henk and recent heavy rainfall, we paused abstracting river water into Farmoor reservoir.

"This is because the heavy bursts of rain increased the amount of dirt and debris in the water."

They added that this was "normal procedure", and that now river levels have now stabilised, visitors to Farmoor will start to notice the reservoir slowly re-filling in the coming days.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].