Resources for Water DME
1. Britain's "leakiest" water supplier Thames Water has announced plans to build a £1bn reservoir to meet increased water demand. Click here
2. GARD - Group Against Reservoir Development
GARD members are drawn from the people of the Vale of The White Horse, and beyong. We have come together to lobby the Environment Agency, Ofwat, local authorities, and central government, with sound technical arguments against Thames Water's proposal to remove 10 sq. kilometers of productive Oxfordshire countryside and replace it with a pumped storage reservoir system.
The scheme is to draw water from the Thames when its flow is suitable, and return it in periods of drought. Only a small proportion of this water would be diverted, via a treatment plant, to supplement mains supply.
The scale, and purpose, of this scheme is disproportionate to the benefits, and expectations, of water customers. It would be energy intensive, with high CO2 condequences.
Large, open, reservoirs are not for the future, where climatic change will likely result in hotter, drier conditions. The evaporative rate from such a reservoir would cause a depletion of the stored water when most needed. Losses of up to 75% have been reported in some countries.
Our vital water reserves must be conserved and not wasted. Storage should be underground, in man made contqinments, and in the use of appropriate engineering to assit the recharging of natures own, vast, areas of underground aquifers. Flood alleviation schemes should be incorporated, with better use made of gravity. Aquifers are our primary water resourse. Stopping the contamination of ground water with nitrates, and other pollutants, is the responsibility of government.
Water transfer from adjacent areas, such as Wales, is viable, but will need the co-operation of government agencies and the water companies. Rainwater harvesting is also a viable resource. Currently, 90% of runoff rainwater is lost to the sea unused.
Replacement of corroded Victorian water distribution pipes is the priority. The proposed reservoir would make up only one third of the water lost through leakage into London's heavily polluted ground water, water that is uneconomic to recover.
Failure to implement alternatives can create a perception of water scarcity. This provides the rationale forever escalating water equity owning our water supply prompts the possibility of information manipulation making the reservoir appear the best option. The construction costs would be borne by water customers, and at the expense of farmers and landowners. This demands scrutiny.
