Thames Water says new Abingdon reservoir could cost bill-payers up to £7.5bn

Costs could rise to three times original budget in blow to government's reservoir expansion plans

Struggling Thames Water has said a new reservoir in Oxfordshire could cost more than three times the original budget, pushing the eventual cost to be covered by water bill payers to as much as 7.5bn.

In a blow to government plans for an expansion in the number of reservoirs across south-east England, the heavily indebted utility said a review of the Abingdon project had sent the estimated cost of construction from 2.2bn to between 5.5bn and 7.5bn.