• Thames Water has appointed Turner & Townsend Project Management Ltd, supported by Laing O’Rourke Delivery Ltd and Nichols Group Ltd, to assist with the development of new water supply schemes.

• Schemes include a new reservoir near Abingdon, Oxfordshire and a river abstraction project supported by water recycling in West London.

• The appointment follows a comprehensive procurement exercise and will provide Thames Water’s Strategic Resource Options (SRO) team with access to industry experts with extensive experience in delivering nationally significant water infrastructure projects.

Thames Water has today (Monday 22 July 2024) appointed Turner & Townsend to help deliver a range of nationally significant water supply projects, to meet the needs of a growing population and the effects of climate change, including hotter and drier summers.

The schemes include a new reservoir near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, known as SESRO (South East Strategic Reservoir Option), which would secure future water supplies for around 15 million customers across the South East, including Thames Water, Southern Water and Affinity Water customers.

In addition, the programme partner would support the delivery of the Teddington Direct River Abstraction project, which is designed to protect London’s water supply during drought.

The company forecasts that across London and the Thames Valley it will need an extra 1 billion litres of water every day by 2050 – enough to fill 400 Olympic sized swimming pools.

Turner & Townsend’s appointment follows a comprehensive procurement review in which they demonstrated highly relevant experience in developing and supporting large complex infrastructure projects, including, Crossrail, HS2, Heathrow Airport and the Lower Thames Crossing.

Mohit Farmah, Head of Procurement and Supply Chain at Thames Water said: “The programme partner framework provides us with access to an expansive supply of programme management and controls professionals, who have a track-record of delivering major infrastructure projects and programmes.

“Turner & Townsend demonstrated extensive and highly relevant experience in developing and supporting Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. Access to world class industry experts is crucial as we work to protect future water supply for the generations to come.”

James Corrigan, UK Managing Director, Infrastructure, Turner & Townsend said: “We’re thrilled to build on our collaboration with Thames Water through this new appointment. Our role will provide professional programme management and controls services to support its Strategic Resources Options Programme (SRO programme) development and delivery.

“In Partnership with Laing O’Rourke Delivery Limited and The Nichols Group Limited, we will leverage our collective global expertise to support Thames Water in achieving its long-term objectives for our communities and environment."