Today's most viewed
LISTEN HERE
 Jessica Goyder is the latest musician to put her singles on our site. Listen here
| THE INSIDER
 Get the lowdown inside the corridors of power in Oxfordshire here.
| SEND AN OBITUARY
Send us a tribute to someone who has passed away
| ON YER BIKE
 Get the view from the gutter with cycling group Cyclox in Oxfordshire
|
|
|
|
Region ‘running out of water’
 |
| Nick Thompson, a spokesman for Group Against the Reservoir Development, in Steventon |
Oxfordshire will start to run dry in six years unless moves are made towards building a £1bn reservoir near Abingdon, Thames Water warned last night.
As the company unveiled its management plan, it said water restrictions would be in place from 2014 if its measures were not implemented.
These include fixing leaks, installing meters and having the reservoir 'on stream' by 2021.
Last night, opponents of the reservoir said Thames Water had not proved the need for it.
Nick Thompson, a spokesman for pressure group Gard (Group Against the Reservoir Development), said: "There is absolutely no need for this reservoir if there is a much more sustainable approach to water supply.
"We are confident the Thames Water proposal for the reservoir is not the most sustainable, or in the best interests of the customer. If it was unavoidable then we would not be resisting the reservoir."
Sue Rees, a member of group Reservoir Affected Parishes, said: "I still don't think Thames Water has demonstrated or provided a good reason for this particular thing."
Thames Water spokesman Don Sharples said: "We are trying to reduce the risk of hosepipe bans or other restrictions.
"If these proposals go ahead, the level of service we should achieve would mean there would be no more than one hosepipe ban every 20 years."
The report estimates that if water use continued at its current rate, there would be a deficit of more than 39 million litres a day in Oxfordshire and Swindon by 2014.
People now have 16 weeks to respond to the plan. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn will ultimately decide whether the reservoir should go ahead.
Thames Water chief executive David Owens said: "New resources, such as the reservoir proposed in Oxfordshire, will be essential."
6:00am Thursday 8th May 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: John Graham, Oxford on 7:34am Thu 8 May 08
More scaremongering by Thames Water. They can`t manage what they have now so how can they say they want more.
More scaremongering by Thames Water. They can`t manage what they have now so how can they say they want more.
Posted by: Charlie Harman, Faringdon on 8:08am Thu 8 May 08
I thought the whole idea of this reservoir was that it would store water in the winter and that this would then be pumped back into the Thames in the summer. I can't see how that would help Oxfordshire.
I thought the whole idea of this reservoir was that it would store water in the winter and that this would then be pumped back into the Thames in the summer. I can't see how that would help Oxfordshire.
Posted by: Paul, Wiltshire on 8:09am Thu 8 May 08
Me thinks this is scare tactics by TW to enable them to keep profits for capital investment. Therefore allowing them to raise charges to customers.
Me thinks this is scare tactics by TW to enable them to keep profits for capital investment. Therefore allowing them to raise charges to customers.
Posted by: Vole on 8:23am Thu 8 May 08
If the reservoir is not going to be 'on stream' until 2021, how will it prevent Oxon running out of water by 2014?
If the reservoir is not going to be 'on stream' until 2021, how will it prevent Oxon running out of water by 2014?
Posted by: Jongo, Oxon on 8:30am Thu 8 May 08
It's not about Oxfordshire its about the Greater London area. Oxfordshire is the nearest possible point to the Capital that can be flooded.
Why the Hell don't we in this country utilise that which is in abundence all around us, the sea, and invest in de- salinization plants near to the coast particularly near large conerbations such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff even down to the size of the likes of Plymouth.This would save valuable agricultural land to feed mouths. The Oceans are not about to run dry but are expanding according to the greenies with the melting ice caps etc.Surely the more of these plants that are built the technology will improve so the costs will plummet. This could also benifit the more arid regions of the the planet.
It's not about Oxfordshire its about the Greater London area. Oxfordshire is the nearest possible point to the Capital that can be flooded.
Why the Hell don't we in this country utilise that which is in abundence all around us, the sea, and invest in de- salinization plants near to the coast particularly near large conerbations such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff even down to the size of the likes of Plymouth.This would save valuable agricultural land to feed mouths. The Oceans are not about to run dry but are expanding according to the greenies with the melting ice caps etc.Surely the more of these plants that are built the technology will improve so the costs will plummet. This could also benifit the more arid regions of the the planet.
Posted by: Realistic, oxford on 10:39am Thu 8 May 08
Of course we are running out of water. It hardly ever rains here and Oxfordshire would never flood would it?
If only we had people who could actually MANAGE the water which is constantly falling from the skies in a competent manner.
Of course we are running out of water. It hardly ever rains here and Oxfordshire would never flood would it?
If only we had people who could actually MANAGE the water which is constantly falling from the skies in a competent manner.
Posted by: Sid Hunt on 10:41am Thu 8 May 08
De-salinisation plants have been proposed and rejected but I can not remember what the reasons were. It would seem the logical answer to the water supply issues.
De-salinisation plants have been proposed and rejected but I can not remember what the reasons were. It would seem the logical answer to the water supply issues.
Posted by: Steve, Oxford on 11:23am Thu 8 May 08
Why not fix the leaks first?
Why not fix the leaks first?
Posted by: alan page on 12:33pm Thu 8 May 08
Three sunny days and its drought warning time.
Typical!
Three sunny days and its drought warning time.
Typical!
Posted by: Mr Ison, England on 2:43pm Thu 8 May 08
Bring your own water,should be an immigration requirement.
Bring your own water,should be an immigration requirement.
Posted by: Questioner, Abingdon on 3:27pm Thu 8 May 08
Is there any real reason why people use many litres of good drinking water when they wash the car/s 2 or three times a week? Surely a bucket and sponge when it rains is good enough, like the linesmen do when a player gets injured on the pitch, it does wonders!
Is there any real reason why people use many litres of good drinking water when they wash the car/s 2 or three times a week? Surely a bucket and sponge when it rains is good enough, like the linesmen do when a player gets injured on the pitch, it does wonders!
Posted by: Stuart, Oxford on 12:46am Tue 13 May 08
[quote][bold]Jongo[/bold] wrote:
It\'s not about Oxfordshire its about the Greater London area. Oxfordshire is the nearest possible point to the Capital that can be flooded. Why the Hell don\'t we in this country utilise that which is in abundence all around us, the sea, and invest in de- salinization plants near to the coast particularly near large conerbations such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff even down to the size of the likes of Plymouth.This would save valuable agricultural land to feed mouths. The Oceans are not about to run dry but are expanding according to the greenies with the melting ice caps etc.Surely the more of these plants that are built the technology will improve so the costs will plummet. This could also benifit the more arid regions of the the planet. [/quote] De- salinization plants! I agree, however TW tried that at the mouth of the Thames estuary and that trotsky left wing crap called Ken Livingstone used London rate payers money to launch a legal challenge to stop it. 'New' ? Labour are demanding more housing in South Oxfordshire so TW are perfectly entitled to think about the future supplies. Nobody can foresee what the rain pattern is likely to be like over the next decade. Not even the mis-guided loony greens
Jongo wrote:
It\'s not about Oxfordshire its about the Greater London area. Oxfordshire is the nearest possible point to the Capital that can be flooded. Why the Hell don\'t we in this country utilise that which is in abundence all around us, the sea, and invest in de- salinization plants near to the coast particularly near large conerbations such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff even down to the size of the likes of Plymouth.This would save valuable agricultural land to feed mouths. The Oceans are not about to run dry but are expanding according to the greenies with the melting ice caps etc.Surely the more of these plants that are built the technology will improve so the costs will plummet. This could also benifit the more arid regions of the the planet.
De- salinization plants! I agree, however TW tried that at the mouth of the Thames estuary and that trotsky left wing crap called Ken Livingstone used London rate payers money to launch a legal challenge to stop it. 'New' ? Labour are demanding more housing in South Oxfordshire so TW are perfectly entitled to think about the future supplies. Nobody can foresee what the rain pattern is likely to be like over the next decade. Not even the mis-guided loony greens
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
