Thames Water is putting its plan to build a £400 million 150Mm3 reservoir at Abingdon on hold. The company has revised its demand forecasts downwards in the light of the economic recession.

Current status is that the project will now be delayed by up to five - Chief Executive David Owens said the economic downturn has had a significant impact on its water demand forecasts. Thames does not now expect the reservoir to supplement supplies to London to be needed  before 2026 at the earliest because of the collapse in the house building market.

David Owens commented

“We are now predicting a slower increase in population and household numbers from those outlined in our draft Plan. This, combined with lower commercial water use and customers’ continued efforts to save water following the drought, means that overall demand for water will increase more slowly than previously forecast, particularly in the next five years.”

The company’s draft Water Resources Management Plan has been updated to reflect the changes. Among the key revisions  is a substantial reduction in the forecast per capita consumption (PCC) from 157 litres per head per day (l/h/d) currently to 135 l/h/d by 2035. The gap between supply and demand has been revised down to 344Ml/d from 512Ml/d in London and down to 53Ml/d from 92Ml/d in Swindon and Oxfordshire by 2035.

Thames will continue to develop the reservoir scheme to ensure that it can be operational when needed.