Thames Water to spend £6.5bn in 2010-2015

Thames Water has unveiled plans to spend £6.5bn on water and sewerage services for the next five year period of 2010-2015.

The money will be spent on maintenance of replacement of major water mains and sewers, and a proposed new reservoir in Oxfordshire which is expected to provide around 10% of the region's water when completed.

The water services firm also plans to improve the quality of the River Thames by building the Lee Tunnel and improving its Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, in order to reduce the volume of raw sewage overflows into the river.

The measures come as Thames Water prepares to cope with a population growth of 380,000 people in the region by 2015, and attempts to fulfil its pledge to reduce leakage by 18% by 2015.