Councillors have called for Wales to benefit from water being supplied to London amid talk over a huge new pipeline linking Powys with the capital.

Reports surfaced this week that United Utilities, Severn Trent Water and Thames Water are collaborating on a project that could see 155 million litres of water transported from the Lake Vyrnwy reservoir to the Thames basin every day.

The move would help ease the issue of water restrictions in the South of England.

READ MORE: Lake Vyrnwy water supply 'could be used further afield'

The reports claim two routes have been drafted - one that runs to the lower reaches of the River Vyrnwy, which is the shorter and cheaper of the two proposed rutes but faces “hydraulic limitations”.

The other proposed route would see the pipeline travel to the upper River Severn, but has been deemed longer and costlier.

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The Welsh Government has invited Powys Council to discuss the proposal, while the council has been developing a plan to tax companies that take water and energy from the county for use elsewhere.

Some Powys Councillors have expressed concerns with the proposal, including Elwyn Vaughan, Plaid Cymru Leader on Powys County Council.

He said: “These proposals are disgraceful. Wales already supplies 360 million litres a day at a mere 3p a tonne - a pittance. We should be receiving a much higher price for the water we already provide. 

“We are talking about big business and if we were paid properly mid Wales would receive hundreds of millions of pounds which would transform our economy and public services, which are being cut year after year.”

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Other councillors have called for more clarity on the plans, which would require liaison with all three water companies behind the proposal.

Cefin Campbell, Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for Mid & West Wales added:

“Paradoxically, whilst water prices for Welsh customers are amongst the highest in the UK – water from our reservoirs continues to flow over the border at a minimal fee. 

“Any plans to export more water is a cause for concern – and crucially we need assurances that any proposals do not harm our water security in terms of now or the future, that it doesn’t harm our environment or communities, and finally that the people of Wales get the full economic value from the export of this very precious resource.”