27 Feb 2025
The River Thames dataset is the world’s longest continuous water quality record, providing an invaluable historical perspective on how human activity and policy can affect rivers, and sets a new benchmark for assessing modern water quality challenges. Photo credit: Nicole Rathmayr Over the past 40 years, concerted efforts to improve wastewater treatment and […]
20 Feb 2025
Ofwat has opened an enforcement case into Thames Water to investigate whether the delayed delivery of environmental improvement schemes it committed to has meant that it has breached or will be likely to breach legal obligations Ofwat is responsible for enforcing. Photo credit: Yelena Odintsova The Water Industry National Environmental Programme (WINEP) is the […]
20 Feb 2025
Thames Water is among several water companies to ask the economic regulator, Ofwat, to refer its Final Determination to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for a redetermination. Others include Anglian Water and Southern Water. The Board of the UK’s largest water and wastewater services company made the unanimous decision after concluding that the Final […]
21 Nov 2024
An investigation by The Guardian has found that the supply of water by Thames Water is ‘on knife-edge’ with £23bn repairs needed. It also says the company has failed to tackle serious safety concerns or upgrade vital IT systems. Photo credit: Johannes Plenio Britain’s biggest water company has failed to tackle adequately serious […]
30 Oct 2024
Thames Water has secured a £3 billion loan, ensuring the company can continue to operate into 2025. The fresh funds are meant to act as “liquidity bridge” to “stabilise the business” and give it time to secure long-term investment, its chief executive, Chris Weston, said on Friday. It will further balloon its operating company’s debt […]
16 Oct 2024
London’s super sewer, designed to protect the River Thames from sewage pollution well into the future, has now been turned on. In May 2024, the new 25km super sewer was connected to the 6.9km Lee Tunnel – completing the full ‘London Tideway Tunnel’ network, which has a combined capacity of 1.6m m3 to protect the River […]
16 Oct 2024
Reported in The Guardian A freshwater lake that attracts more than 30,000 swimmers a year is under threat of closure from an Environment Agency (EA) plan to reduce flooding that will channel in polluted river water, according to campaigners. Almost 50,000 people have signed a petition calling on the EA and Surrey county council to reroute the flood […]
10 Jul 2024
According to The Guardian, the prime minister and chancellor have been briefed by Whitehall officials that the poor state of Thames Water presents a “critical risk” to the country. Fears about the company go beyond its precarious financial position and include the management of sites that provide drinking water and sewage treatment for millions of […]
