He added: “A local politician, a local MP will obviously do what they can in one way or another to support their constituents and make the best case for them. That is why decisions must be made at the national level. government level, taking into account all the different factors.”
In a report published four years ago, the National Infrastructure Commission called for more reservoirs and warned that such schemes “must be planned long before they are needed” – saying it takes more than a decade “from the decision to build to the possibility of using supplied water.”
Sir John also wants the Government to publish minimum “sustainability standards” which could require firms to ensure no household is without water for more than a certain number of days each year – with penalties for companies that fail to do so observe
Thousands of homes in Surrey were left without water on Saturday due to “technical problems” at treatment plants.
Some tanks ‘will meet resistance’
Sir John is also pushing for more action to plug leaks and schemes to transfer water from areas with sufficient water supplies to parts of the country where there is a shortage.
He added: “Sometimes we may have to get to a point where, despite all the objections, the Secretary of State will say: ‘I’ve heard all the arguments and I’m ready for this to go ahead, whether it’s a new tunnel under the River Thames or whether it’s a new reservoir.
“Something like a reservoir on a large area in Oxfordshire is bound to meet with opposition… For people looking at 15 years of uncertainty, upheaval, construction, road noise etc., what they saw as green and pleasant fields suddenly becomes a huge hole…they’re unlikely to vote for it left to their own devices.”
Writing in this newspaper last week, George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, called on water companies to impose further hose bans to save supplies.
It promised to “streamline the process of obtaining planning permission” for new reservoirs.
But Sir John, the former chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority and ex-chief executive of Network Rail, suggested the Government’s plan only addressed the issue in a “theoretical sense”.
He said: “We’re getting to the point, and I guess this summer has brought it to the fore, where we just can’t keep thinking about these things forever. Somebody has to say right, okay, this is what we want to achieve, this is the quality of service that needs to be achieved, now, what are we going to do to deliver it?”
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