Thames Water faces delays in building UK reservoir

Thames Water is facing a decades-long struggle to construct a £6.6 billion, 150-billion-litre reservoir near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The project, first proposed roughly 20 years ago, is intended to address rising water demand caused by population growth and increasingly dry summers in the South East of England.

Despite the project being originally slated for completion by 2026, it is now estimated to be at least 14 years away. The lack of new reservoir infrastructure in the UK since 1992 has forced water companies to use tankers to deliver drinking water during shortages and impose hosepipe bans on residents.

The proposal faces significant local opposition from the Group Against Reservoir Development (GARD). Campaigners have raised concerns regarding environmental damage, flood risks, financial implications, and the disruption of local communities.