Havant Thicket reservoir water resilience has become a national priority, alongside a serious government announcement and a plain wooden survey staff standing beside a very large hole. The government said on 4 September that Havant Thicket is England’s first new major reservoir in more than 30 years. It also said drought restrictions affected more than 30 million people.
The reservoir is not finished. That creates an awkward obstacle for anyone hoping to unveil the future by standing in front of it. Ministers presented Havant Thicket as part of a wider plan to strengthen water supplies while England endured its third drought in five years.
The puddle at the bottom of the construction basin has requested a progress report, a delivery timetable and written confirmation that nobody will quietly promote it to strategic reserve.
Havant Thicket reservoir water resilience in plain terms
The government announcement says Havant Thicket should eventually provide an extra 21 million litres of water a day. Alongside eight other planned reservoirs and water transfer schemes, the programme should add around 700 million litres a day by 2050.
That is a substantial ambition. It also needs time, money and working pipes. A photograph of somebody pointing at a mound cannot provide any of those things. The wooden survey staff has accepted the assignment. It will stand upright and witness the difference between a plan and a functioning reservoir.
The government also described plans for lower leakage, smart meters, water efficiency labelling and investment in water infrastructure. It warned of a possible shortfall of 5 billion litres a day by 2055.
The national response therefore combines major construction with immediate requests for everyone to use less water. Households must save every drop while the state explains that it may need several billion more later. The puddle considers this an inspiring example of demand management.
A reservoir, a drought and one furious puddle
Havant Thicket reservoir water resilience is less a miracle than an overdue appointment. The announcement supports the drought figures, the construction project and the government’s stated plans. The wooden survey staff and its increasingly formal relationship with the puddle are comic inventions. The administrative anxiety needs no invention at all.
The puddle has formed a residents’ association, appointed a treasurer and submitted a planning objection against being called temporary. Its demand is simple. If Britain is building water resilience for the future, could somebody please build the future before the puddle evaporates, invoices the Treasury and applies for heritage status?
Source: GOV.UK.
