Thames Water: Water firm has dumped sewage into London rivers for over 1,900 hours so far this year - while seeking to hike bills by 40%

Thames Water has pumped sewage into the Greater London area of the River Thames for 1,914 hours since the start of 2024 equivalent to 79 days, according to new damning findings. The findings come from publicly available data from Thames Water and have been revealed by environmental charity River Action.

The data 40 sites between Kingston and the mouth of the river in the east. It shows that storm overflows managed by Thames Water are almost constantly discharging untreated raw sewage into local rivers. 

CEO of River Action James Wallace said: “Nearly all our rivers have been polluted by water companies which, since privatisation over 30 years ago when all their debt was wiped, have adopted vulture-like business models. This has led to money from honest water bill payers ending up lining the pockets of investors with multi-billion-pound dividends and interest from debt. 

“The water companies chose this instead of fixing their leaky pipes, investing in new sewage systems and reservoirs. We now face the spectre of ecological collapse on the nation’s rivers, loss of biodiversity and rather than thriving wildlife and pristine bathing water sites, a cesspool of stinking waterways.”

It comes as fears are mounting that Thames Water could collapse, costing the taxpayers billions of pounds, after it revealed it had a debt pile of £14bn last year. According to the Financial Times, officials at Defra have in place contingency plans for Thames Water if it collapses, under the name Project Timber.

In December the parent company of Thames Water, Kemble Water Holdings, was told by auditors that it could run out of cash by April if shareholders did not inject more funds into the company. The company has raised £500m and says shareholders would inject more than £3bn more but this is dependent on Thames Water getting what it wants from the regulator.

When asked about the situation with Thames Water, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister told NationalWorld: "I wouldn't get into speculation or comment on commercial matters." Meanwhile the Financial Times reports that the water firm is also trying to strike a deal with the watchdog Ofwat that would give it permission to charge customers more to avoid the multi billion-pound taxpayer bailout. That plan would give Thames Water permission to increase bills by 40% by 2030, while also offering more leniency around regulator fines and rules around the dividends it can pay to shareholders. 

With World Water Day on Friday 22 March, River Action is launching its premier of a short folk horror film, called Black Samphire, which explores the perils of water pollution on Thursday 21 March at the Brixton Ritzy Cinema on Thursday 21st March at 7.30pm. A panel discussion will follow with special guests including river campaigner Feargal Sharkey and Baroness Jones of Moulescoombe.

The short film stars the likes of Stephen Fry, Cathy Wippell and Ishtar Currie-Wilson. Noting how much she enjoyed working on Black Samphire, actor Ishtar Currie-Wilson who plays Isla said, “I think that horror has always been the leading genre in making significant and accessible cultural commentary and with our current climate crisis there has never been a more important time to bring these stories to the big screen. I would expect to see a lot more environmentally focused films within the years to come.” 

Thames Water has previously said on sewage spills that it has plans to upgrade over 250 of its sewage treatment works. A spokesperson said: “The planned upgrades will improve our ability to treat the high volumes of incoming sewage and reduce the need for overflows during wet weather. This is expected to be completed in 2026.

“Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us and we want to lead the way with our transparent approach to data. We’re the first company to provide live alerts for all untreated discharges throughout our region and this ‘near real-time’ data is available to customers as a map on our website and is also available through an open data platform for third parties, such as swimming and environmental groups to use.” 

Commenting on the potential of the water firm’s bailout, a government spokesperson said: “Water companies are commercial entities and we do not comment on the financial situation of specific companies as it would not be appropriate. We prepare for a range of scenarios across our regulated industries - including water - as any responsible government would.”