CovSoc member, Peter Hunter, tells us about the Grand Union Canal Transfer project which is currently the subject of public consultation. Peter writes…..
The Grand Union Canal Transfer is a proposed strategic water-resources scheme designed to move water from the Midlands to the southeast of England to help address long-term supply problems driven by population growth, climate change and environmental constraints. It is being developed jointly by Severn Trent, Affinity Water and the Canal & River Trust, using parts of the existing Coventry, Oxford and Grand Union canal network as the main part of the transfer corridor.
The detail of the scheme is outlined below, but of particular interest to Coventry is the opportunity that the scheme provides to bring the 19th century engine house at Hawkesbury Junction (photograph above) back into use, along with significant enhancement of the building which has been effectively mothballed since the 1960’s.
The scheme would take treated recycled water from Severn Trent’s Minworth facility near Birmingham and move it via a new pipeline into the Coventry Canal at Atherstone. From there, it would travel south through the canal network. South of Milton Keynes, water would be abstracted, stored in a new reservoir and further treated to drinking water quality before entering Affinity Water’s distribution network near Luton. Affinity Water provides domestic water supplies to London and the southeast of England. The total project length is almost 100 miles.
To make the water transfer possible while maintaining canal navigation and managing water levels, the proposals include new pumping and pipework at key locations and, where needed, engineering works such as raising canal banks to improve resilience and reduce leakage/overflow risks.
The scheme is an exemplar of the new thinking required for the country’s water resources to be used more effectively in future. The transfer capacity is up to 115 megalitres per day, providing a useable output of 100 megalitres for public water supply. The purpose of the scheme is to reduce reliance on less sustainable sources, including sensitive groundwater abstractions, while also improving drought resilience by creating a more connected regional supply system.
The local implications of the scheme around Coventry involve some raising of canal banks locally including around Hawkesbury Junction and on the Oxford Canal in the north of the city. There will also be a requirement to pump water underground at Hawkesbury Junction from the Coventry Canal to the Oxford to avoid Hawkesbury locks. The proposals involve the pump engine needed for this to be housed in the old engine house at Hawkesbury, seeing the building used for a purpose similar to its original one. The original Newcomen steam engine that was housed at Hawkesbury was removed to Dartmouth in the 1960’s.
Because of its scale, the project will require a Development Consent Order (DCO) under the Planning Act. The government has issued a section 35 direction bringing the proposals into that process.
The second phase of consultation over the scheme is now under way and runs to April 2nd. The Coventry Society will be responding to the consultation supporting the principle of the overall project and of course supporting the opportunity that the scheme provides to bring the Hawkesbury Engine House back into use.