GARD believes that the primary aim of any plan to meet water supply needs in the South East should be:
- to provide a secure and sustainable system that is resilient to future population increases, climate change and possible prolonged drought.
This can be achieved by proper stewardship of resources, prioritising leakage reduction, making large gains in efficient use of water, and bringing new sources of water into the South East.
After thorough professional investigation, GARD believes strongly that:
- the Abingdon Reservoir proposals are not justified.
Even a large reservoir would not be resilient to a prolonged drought, as it would run out of water relatively quickly.
GARD’s research, based on input from academic experts, scientists and professionals, demonstrates that there is enough water for London’s increased population needs, even with climate change taken into account, from a number of environmentally sustainable sources, as explained below.
Fix the leaks and reduce demand
Fixing leakage and using water efficiently are climate change- and drought-resilient solutions. In Thames Water’s area alone, 550 million litres/day of water is leaked – 25% of what goes into its pipes and twice the capacity of the proposed reservoir.
The government has forced Thames Water to commit to halving its leakage rate by 2050 making a 25% improvement in water efficiency, which would bring about a 15% decline in water demand by 2050, making the reservoir redundant.
Leakage
Thames Water has an appalling leakage rate – every day its pipes leak more than twice the water supplied by the proposed reservoir, over 550 million litres per day! About 25% of the water put into its pipes is leaked. This is the worst in the UK, and about 3-5 times the leakage rate in Germany, Denmark and Holland.
Reduce demand
Thames Water’s household usage is higher than in 18 EU countries and more or less the worst in England. If Thames Water managed to half its leakage rate by 2050 and make improvements in water efficiency, government figures show this is enough to meet our water needs, even taking into account Thames Water’s grossly inflated population figures and overstated demands. Fixing leakage and using water efficiently are the best solutions.
Water transfer
The proposed reservoir brings no new water into the Thames Valley. Water transfer from the Severn to the Thames offers a resilient, adaptive and expandable ‘insurance policy’ scheme. This can be implemented more quickly, for less cost, and would be less environmentally damaging and more drought resilient.
GARD’s experts propose:
- starting Phase 1 from 2027. This pipeline on its own would supply 50% of the proposed reservoir’s supply, for less than 50% of the cost. It could be delivered in 5 years, a much shorter timeframe than the 12 year reservoir build.
- If needed, the STT could be upgraded via support from Midlands recycling plants and North Wales reservoirs.
- The SST is an adaptive solution, with cost to the billpayer only if and when needed.
- The pipeline would leave no trace, similar to the gas pipelines laid for the national grid. There would be lower permanent loss of land and biodiversity.
- The STT has been studied since the 1990s. The River Severn’s flow is much higher than the River Thames and less prone to drought.
- GARD’s modelling shows that the STT is more drought resilient than the proposed reservoir.
- advancing the Grand Union Canal (GUC) Phase 2 scheme to start immediately on completion of Phase 1 in 2031 to be ready by 2036, rather than 2040.
Re-use water and build desalination plants
To deliver a sustainable water supply, there are two clear options:
- water re-use
- GARD supports the use of recycling wastewater for re-use (after treatment to the highest standards).
- desalination
- cleaner energy can transform desalination into a more sustainable and climate-friendly solution, which provides drought resilience. New desalination plants can be built and start delivering water supplies much more quickly than a new reservoir would.