Water should be moved from Wales to London and the south east of England, according to a London-based union. As London is in a drought, GMB London, a water workers' union, has proposed reviving the so-called "win-win" plan from the Victorian era to move water from a Welsh lake to help London's situation.
The plan would see water taken from United Utilities at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys via the restoration of the Cotswold canals and Sapperton Canal Tunnel in Gloucester. GMB London has said the plan could help to deal with periodic droughts in and around London.
Although moving water around the UK is by no means a new idea, the union's call to use Welsh reservoirs to provide water to England may prove controversial on this side of Offa's Dyke. With some reservoirs in Wales showing lower water levels than usual there are bound to be questions about whether the plans are the best use of resources - and for some, the idea may have unsavoury echoes of the Tryweryn Valley being flooded to create a reservoir to supply Liverpool with water.
However, the union has insisted the plan would be "win-win" for both Wales and England. Mark Holland, GMB London Regional Organiser for the water industry, said: "Thames Water should accept the water being offered by United Utilities from Lake Vyrnwy and get it to the Thames via the restoration of the Cotswold canals and Sapperton tunnel.
"This plan was covered in the Thames Water 2019 draft plan for water supply for London in the 21st century but is not included in the current list of things Thames Water plan to do. Instead of this very workable plan one of the things Thames Water is planning to rely on is the hope of consumers cutting daily consumption from 145 litres to 125 litres."
GMB London has called the plan "common sense and financially viable" and has said it would be easier than building a new reservoir at Abingdon, a proposal which has been circulating since 2006. The suggestions follow reports that Thames Water bosses were awarded bonuses of £2.4m in 2020 and 2021 despite the company losing up to a quarter of all its water from leaks.
However, GMB Wales does not back the suggestion. Tom Hoyles, GMB political officer said: "Any proposals are currently at an exploratory phase and are not official union policy. GMB Wales believes discussions on this matter need far more detail as to how the infrastructure would be developed, how it would affect our workers on the ground and how the water would be paid for. Nothing comes for free in this world."
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has said the situation with leakages is "unacceptable." Dwr Cymru Welsh Water also loses millions of litres of water every day because of burst and cracked pipes and joints.
A hosepipe ban comes into force for parts of Wales on August 19. Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has plans to inform customers of the need to protect water supplies and manage demand through "enhanced and targeted leakage control and/or pressure management" if water becomes scarce.
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