Severn Trent, Affinity Water, Canal and River Trust – Exploring reservoir augmentation for the future
Historic canals to move water from the Midlands to the Southeast
Severn Trent, Affinity Water and the Canal & River Trust charity are working together to develop the Grand Union Canal Transfer, which will secure future water supplies, protect the environment and invest in communities.
The canal network has transported people and goods for over two centuries, and we now want to use it to help transfer, recycled water from the Midlands to the Southeast.
The Grand Union Canal Transfer offers up to 115 million litres (30 million gallons) per day of clean, recycled water which is constantly being produced at Minworth – water which can help to replace unsustainable groundwater abstraction, help support increased customer demand in times of drought/dry weather and through increased growth.
Recycled water from Minworth provides both improved drought resilience, as well as an alternative major surface water supply to Affinity Water, if supplies from the River Thames were unavailable. The transfer may also be used to support neighboring companies in the short term, prior to the development of their own water resource solutions.