South Oxfordshire District Council submits response to Thames Water reservoir consultation

Published 13 January 2026

South Oxfordshire District Council has today (13 January 2026) submitted its consultation response on Thames Water’s proposed South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO).

Thames Water launched a public consultation in October 2025 on the proposed reservoir, which ran until 13 January 2026. The feedback gathered will inform Thames Water’s Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the government, expected in autumn 2026.

View the council’s consultation response here.

Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We’ve submitted our response to Thames Water and we hope that they listen to our feedback before their DCO application to government.  

“Residents across South Oxfordshire are worried about the risks this reservoir poses, and they deserve clear, evidence based answers. Thames Water has still not demonstrated how it would prevent emergency discharges into our local watercourses or manage the wider environmental and safety impacts of a structure of this scale. We will continue to push for transparency, accountability and a full assessment of alternatives that do not place our communities at risk.”

South Oxfordshire District Council also set out its objections in a formal letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in December 2025. The letter from the Council Leader, Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers,  called for clarity regarding how emergency discharge from the proposed Abingdon reservoir will be managed. Cllr Filipova-Rivers also called for a firm commitment to providing the resources necessary to deal with any such discharge before the government considers any further consent to the project. 

The letter followed a debate on the topic at the full council meeting on Thursday 11 December – where a motion was raised and approved expressing concerns about the proposed reservoir’s Emergency Discharge facility.