Desalination Plant Approved For London

London’s water supplies have a much more secure future after the Government confirmed it has granted planning permission for the Thames Gateway Desalination Plant, in Beckton., building should be complete in 2009.

The announcement by the Secretaries of State for the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), follows a legal Undertaking by Thames Water agreeing not to operate the plant until it has entered into an operating agreement with the Environment Agency.

Thames Water has confirmed that the plant will only be used during times of drought or extended periods of low rainfall, or to maintain supplies in the event of an incident at its other water treatment facilities.

The plant is the first of its kind to be built in the UK and will be able to provide up to 140 million litres of drinking water a day – enough for nearly one million people – making the prospect of future water restrictions, such as hosepipe and sprinkler bans, less likely.

Due to the comparatively high energy consumption of the plant, using up to twice the amount as conventional water treatment facilities of similar size, it will only be used when necessary. In some years the plant may not need to operate at all, in others it will run most of the time but the best estimate is that on average, it will run for up to 40 per cent of the time, over the next 25 years.