UK
Government criticised over Thames wastewater plan

Luxmy Gopal
BBC London
James W Kelly
BBC News

The Thames Water proposal would see treated wastewater pumped above Teddington Lock

The government has faced criticism over this week's approval of plans to pump treated wastewater into the River Thames in south-west London.

The Teddington Direct River Abstraction (DRA) would see treated sewage pumped into the river above Teddington Lock through an underground pipeline from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works.

Twickenham MP Munira Wilson said the Thames Water scheme could damage the the environment and human health.

Thames Water and the government say the plan is needed to help address the "skyrocketing" demand for water.

The scheme would provide up to 75 million litres of water a day during droughts and dry weather, but it would not be designed to run at these levels all year.

When submitting the plans for approval last year, Thames Water said it was the "cheapest" option available to provide enough water to increase drought resilience in London to a one in 200-year level.

It predicts it will need an extra billion litres of water a day by 2075 to account for climate change and growing population demand.

Former Olympic rower Ian McNuff, who lives along the River Thames in Teddington, told BBC London: "The more we looked at it and the more questions we asked, the more uncomfortable we became.

Ian McNuff says the plans are "not good enough"

"They cannot guarantee that they will cause no harm. They 'think' it will be as good as it is now but that's not good enough."

A Thames Water spokesperson said that no untreated sewage water would be pumped into the river as part of this scheme and no different to the current water supply system.

'Think again'


Ms Wilson, a Liberal Democrat, said questions about any chemicals that could remain in the river need to be answered before the proposals are taken forward.

"I want the government to think again. There are many other options available that we know Thames Water looked at but rejected because they say it's too expensive," she said.

An online petition launched in January 2023 to reject the plans has more than 30,000 signatures.


The Twickenham MP says questions need to be answered


The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the plan was needed to meet increased water supply needs that come with "rapid population growth" in the south east and climate change.

It added: "That is why this government is committed to increase our water supply while protecting the environment and public health.

"We are going further by introducing legislation to clean up our waterways, attract private-sector investment for upgrades and speed up the building of water infrastructure."