Thames Water has today launched a major public consultation on its draft Water Resources Management Plan 2024 - the proposed strategic plan for future water supply sets out the ‘big picture’ on how Thames Water intends to plan ahead for the next 50 years.

It explains how the water company will provide a secure and sustainable water supply for the increasing population in the South East region; protect against the growing risk of drought and water shortages; and, improve the environment.  The consultation will run for fourteen weeks until 21 March 2023.   

The whole of the South East of England is facing substantial water shortages - this summer’s extreme heat and lack of wateris a clear indication of climate emergency first-hand. 

The predicted regional water demand is set to increase, with the number of people living and working in London and the Thames Valley forecast to grow significantly. Thames Water currently supplies around 2.6 billion litres of water every day to customers across London and the Thames Valley. The water company is forecasting that it will need an extra 1 billion litres of water every day for customers by 2075 to accommodate climate change and population growth. 

The draft plan – which proposes investment of up to £13 billion between 2025 and 2050 - sets out strategic options to build in future resilience, spells out the challenges faced and the planned actions to maintain the balance between water supply and demand.   

Thames Water says it will still need to find new sources of water, even though the plan requires an ambitious reduction in leakage and for customers to help reduce consumption.  The plan considers a number of options, including a new abstraction in Teddington supported by water recycling, a new reservoir in Oxfordshire, and schemes to share water across the South East including a new water transfer from the River Severn.   

Across the region more than 1,400 options were considered to plug the shortfall between the amount of water in the region and the amount of water needed.  Each option was assessed on water output, impact on the environment, carbon budget, delivery timeline and ability to build in future resilience. 

Image: Strategic Resource Options (SROs) under investigation. Source RAPID, August 2022 © Crown copyright 

The five strategic resource options included in Thames Water’s draft plan are a new river abstraction at Teddington; a new reservoir in Oxfordshire (SESRO); and three water transfers as follows:   

South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO) - a new storage reservoir, would be built in the Upper Thames catchment, south west of Abingdon in Oxfordshire.  The reservoir would be filled with water from the River Thames during periods of high river flow. When river levels drop or demand for water increases, water would be released back into the River Thames for re-abstraction downstream. The reservoir would also supply water for Affinity Water, Southern Water and Thames Water customers.  The regional-led work has shown that a reservoir of at least 100 Mm3 is needed. Planning consent for construction is planned by 2030 - water would be available by 2040. 

New river abstraction at Teddington - would be sited on the River Thames close to Teddington Weir. Abstracted water would be transferred via an existing underground tunnel to the Lee Valley reservoirs in North London. Highly treated recycled water would be conveyed by pipeline from Mogden sewage treatment works upstream of Teddington Weir to compensate for the additional water taken from the river to protect the environment and wildlife.  Planning consent for construction is planned by 2030 - water would be available by 2031. 

The Severn to Thames Transfer (STT) - would transfer water from the North West and Midlands to the South East for use during a drought. The water would come from the River Severn itself, with Severn Trent Water and United Utilities providing additional sources of water if needed. The water would then be moved from the River Severn to the River Thames either by a new pipeline or by a combination of new pipeline and restoring the Cotswold canals. Ongoing work is being undertaken to enable the scheme to proceed if it is required. The scheme would supply water for Affinity Water, Southern Water and Thames Water customers. Planning consent for construction is planned by 2040 - with water available from 2050 in a phased manner.  

The Thames to Affinity Transfer (T2AT) - would move water by pipeline from the River Thames to Affinity Water once a new source of water (such as SESRO, STT or a new water recycling scheme in East London) has been developed. In the draft regional plan the construction would be in two phases, the first up to 2040, with water available once the reservoir in Oxfordshire (SESRO) is built.  The second phase would be up to 2050. 

The Thames to Southern Transfer (T2ST) -  would move water by pipeline from the River Thames to Southern Water once a new source of water (either SESRO or STT) has been developed. In the draft regional plan the planning consent and construction would take place through 2040, with water available once the new water sources are available.

Thames Water customers, community groups, businesses, academics, charities and other organisations are now being invited to comment on the draft Water Resources Management Plan. The consultation is seeking feedback on major decisions surrounding regional water challenges, including planning and building new water resources infrastructure that could take many years before they’re ready to provide water. 

The water company has developed the plan by working collaboratively with Water Resources South East (WRSE) and neighbouring water companies to coordinate a regional response.This collaborative approach has allowed Thames Water to look beyond its boundary and play its part in supporting the regional plan in order to deliver the most benefit across the South East for the long term.   

 Nevil Muncaster, Strategic Resources Director at Thames Water, said:  

“Our plan sets out how we will meet the water resource challenge in the future through a combination of fixing leaks more rapidly, making the way that we use water more efficient and by investment in new infrastructure to meet future needs.  

“Working together we can achieve this, and we call on government too, to recognise and support the urgent need for this nationally critical infrastructure as part of these plans. Projects like the Thames Tideway tunnel which is well on the way to delivering a long and lasting legacy for London and the Thames demonstrates that we have all the necessary skills to deliver major projects on time, to budget and with the community.” 

Over the next 14 weeks, a number of consultation events for the public will be taking place across the region including community information events in Cirencester, Abingdon, Richmond and Steventon as well as briefings. 

The consultation feedback received will be carefully considered by the company and in June 2023, it will be sent to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as part of Thames Water’s submission to the Government for approval of the draft Water Resources Management Plan 2024. 

Click here to view the plan in full and access the consultation online.

Click here to download the non-technical summary