Council questions safety of planned reservoir

Councillors have raised safety concerns about a planned new reservoir near Abingdon.

At an Oxfordshire County Council meeting on Tuesday, green councillor, Gavin McLauchlan said planning for an emergency discharge of water from Thames Water's South East Strategic Reservoir Option hadn't been done, and could "cause havoc" for villages further down the River Thames.

Following the approval of Mr McLauchlan's motion, the council leader will now write to the government to "request clarity" on how such a situation would be managed, prior to final planning permission being granted.

Thames Water, said the proposed reservoir "will meet strict safety standards".

According to Mr McLauchlan, the proposed reservoir has the potential to hold 150 million cubic metres of water, but during an emergency discharge, 6.5million cubic meters could be discharged into the Thames at a rate of 75 cubic meters per second.

The river normally flows at 28 cubic meters per second.

Mr McLauchlan said "such a discharge could cause havoc along the Thames, endangering life, residences, businesses, wildlife and the environment, yet there is no requirement for the reservoir operator to have an emergency plan before building the reservoir, only before filling it."

Communities including Sutton Courtenay, Culham, Dorchester on Thames and Berinsfield could all be impacted, he said.

In response, Simon Adams, Programme Director of Thames Water said: "The UK has an excellent reservoir safety record and our proposed new reservoir in Oxfordshire would meet strict safety standards set out under the Reservoirs Act 1975.

He added that the reservoir will be designed, built and operated under the Act, including oversight from "independent reservoir engineers" and would have "continuous monitoring by trained safety teams".

"The reservoir will have an emergency system designed to release water safely into the River Thames if needed," he added.

Thames Water intends to submit an application to construct and maintain the reservoir next year. If granted, it hopes to start building in 2029 with the reservoir operational from 2040. It could cost up to £7.5bn.

It was designated a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project in June.

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