THAMES Water's latest business plan includes an 'aspiration' to reduce leakage by 50 per cent 'in the long term'.

The commitment is part of a wider five-year plan, which also aims to reduce leakage by 15 per cent within seven years.

With the company currently losing around 700 million litres of water to leaks every day, £2.1 billion has been set aside in the 2020 - 2025 plan to address the issue. That figure is in addition to the tens of millions set to be spent between now and 2020.

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Oxford Mail:

The company stress that its ‘holistic’ approach to reducing leakage across the region includes various techniques, including the use of planes, drones and satellites.

In the plan, the organisation says it wants to increase the amount of 'directly employed labour within partner organisations', stating: "Having sufficient, competent and motivated repair and maintenance teams available in our network is critical."

It continues: "While some of the biggest changes to leakage will be enabled through technology we still need to improve our operating processes. Specifically, we will develop more efficient find and fix methods and reduce time from find-to-fix".

Oxford Mail:

Commenting on the wider plan, Chief Executive Steve Robertson said: “I am really excited about delivering on these proposals and ensuring the Thames Valley has the modern and high-quality waste and water network its residents rightly expect.”

Meanwhile, plans for a reservoir the size of Heathrow airport near Abingdon - which will be consulted on for a second time - are categorised as an ‘investment in resilient systems and assets’ in the plan.