Thames consults on Abingdon strategic reservoir

Thames Water has opened a 12-week public consultation on proposals for a new strategic reservoir near Abingdon in Oxfordshire.

Stakeholders have until 28 August to respond to plans which include a new “interim masterplan and design vision” which show how the reservoir could look, how it might be built, and how it may benefit visitors. There are seven areas of consultation, including opportunities for leisure and recreation, and the plan for access including local road network changes and new public rights of way. The consultation will be supported by a series of community events in Oxfordshire, and online resources.

Proposals for the reservoir, known as SESRO (South East Strategic Reservoir Option), have been developed in conjunction with Southern Water and Affinity Water, as the reservoir is designed to secure future water supplies for all three company’s customers, a projected 15 million people. 

SESRO would provide 270m litres of water a day, supporting a growing population; provide an additional 82 days of water supply in a drought, building resilience to climate change; and enable abstraction reductions from rivers and groundwater sources, including Hampshire’s Test and Itchen chalk streams, protecting the environment.

Thames Water forecasts that across London and the Thames Valley, it will need an extra 1bn litres of water every day by 2050. It estimated that a severe drought could cost London’s economy alone as much as £500m a day.

Thames intends to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) seeking permission to construct and maintain the new reservoir in 2026. If granted, construction is forecast to begin in 2029 with SESRO planned to begin operating in 2040.