Sir – It is hardly surprising that the Institute of Civil Engineers supports Thames Water’s proposal for a giant reservoir as both head offices are located almost on each other’s doorsteps and it holds out the prospect of highly remunerative contracts.

But for the ICE, I suspect it is not about water supply but about ego. Cowed by TV programmes constantly eulogising Victorian engineers, what the Victorians did for us with their engineering marvels, they are desperate to bolster their egos, crying out to show us that they can do better than hirsute wonders of two centuries ago, by planning and constructing the second biggest manmade reservoir in Europe.

The public inquiry in 2010 concluded that not enough attention had been paid to alternatives for water supply and it seems Thames Water have not got the message although the arguments against the reservoir are just as valid today as they were in 2010.

Nevertheless Thames Water, presumably more with an interest in meeting the financial interests of its Australian investment bank masters, doggedly persists in wasting consumers’ money on what will eventually lead to a further public inquiry at taxpayers’ cost and put many people to inconvenience in the meanwhile.

C. Spinage
Faringdon