Thames Water Amends Plans for Massive Oxfordshire Reservoir

Thames Water amended plans for the proposed White Horse reservoir in Oxfordshire to address construction access and environmental mitigation. The project aims to create Europe's largest fully bounded reservoir, featuring walls up to 25 metres high and a capacity of 150bn litres to serve 15 million people by 2040.

Estimated costs for the project have increased significantly, rising from an initial £2.2bn to a current estimate between £5.5bn and £7.5bn. Some critics suggest that inflation could drive the final cost as high as £10bn. The utility company maintains the reservoir is essential to address climate change and population growth.

The project faces strong opposition from the Vale of White Horse district council, Abingdon town council, and Oxfordshire county council. These bodies cite severe flood risks associated with the site. The Group Against Reservoir Development further claims the company has failed to provide comprehensive flood risk modelling for the location, which is situated on a red-rated flood plain.