The decision by the Secretary of State for Environment to turn down Thames Wate’s proposal to build a massive 5000 acres water reservoir on productive farmland has been welcomed by London Assembly Member Darren Johnson.
The proposal would have cost Thames Water’s customers £1bn and taken approximately 10 years to build (1).
In 2008/9 London lost 18.5% of its mains water, equivalent of 435 million litres per day. By reducing leakage from water mains by only 1% it would provide enough water for 224,000 Londoners (2).
Darren Johnson said: "Turning down the reservoir proposal has been the right decision. Thames Water argued that the scheme was designed to meet the predicted shortfall of around 60 million litres a day in 2035. But almost ten times that amount of water is lost through water leakage in London every day. The top priorities should be replacing ageing mains, installing water meters and ensuring all buildings are kitted out with water-saving devices, not building new reservoirs."
Editors Notes
(1) Letter from John Bourne, DEFRA, to Martin Baggs, Chief Executive Officer of Thames Water, dated 1 March 2011 states: "The Inspector has concluded that, whilst the provisions of the revised draft WRMP would enable Thames Water to maintain a secure supply of water over the plan period 2010-2035, deficiencies present in the plan meant she could not conclude that the supply of water during this period would be efficient and economical. Consequently, the Inspector concluded that the revised WRMP did not meet the statutory requirements under section 37(1) and section 37A(2) of the Water Industry Act 1991."
(2) The Mayor’s draft water strategy August 2009: Managing Water Use, pg 41