THAMES Water is set to go ahead with plans which will see it pump treated sewage into the River Thames– despite objections– as part of proposals laid out last week.
While more than 24,000 people signed a petition objecting to the plans, Thames Water has announced that treated waste water will be let into the Thames in south-west London.
Following a public consultation between December last year and March this year, Thames Water published its statement of response and updated the plan last week, which is now set to be considered buy the government.
The plans included the proposal, which would see the utilities provider take water from the Thames, above Teddington Weir, to their Lee Valley reservoirs, and replace it with treated waste water.
The company is set to carry out a number of situational assessments ahead of the new date for the measure, which is now set for 2033.
It is intended to provide as much as 75 million litres of water per day, as the company announced it would need to find an extra billion litres of water per day by 2075 to meet demand.
This is despite the launch of a petition objecting the move back in January, which cited the expected impact on fish and other wildlife among its concerns.
It also posited that fines imposed on regulation breaches would be insufficient in deterring or preventing further environmental impacts, and gained more than 24,000 signatures.
The #SaveTeddingtonThames petition lays out a number of further objections, including what it calls the “long-term destruction or dislocation of large areas of Ham Lands.”
This area is home to a number of wildlife species, and there are fears that construction work will have a “devastating” effect on the river, its banks, and the surrounding areas of Ham, Teddington, and Richmond.
The 50-year plans submitted by Thames Water also include proposals to find and fix leaks, with the company committing to more than halving leakage from both its pipes and customers’ pipes by 2050.
They have also laid out commitments to reducing daily water use to 110 litres per person by 2050, with current water use in the area at around 140 litres per person, though it has described this aim as “very challenging.”
Among other measures in the plan is the provision of a new reservoir in Oxfordshire, aiming for completion in 2040.
Leakage, water demand reduction, and temporary drought measures will make up around 80% of the forecast shortfall in water supply, the provider has said.
It has also stated that “customer funding” will be required to deliver the plan.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We need to invest in new sources of water if we are to provide a secure and sustainable water supply for the future.
“Our work to date demonstrates that the proposed abstraction scheme in West London is a cost-effective option and our environmental studies have shown that the scheme would not cause detriment to the environment.
“The scheme will provide up to 75 million litres per day as a drought resilience scheme. It would only be used during periods of prolonged dry weather.”
They continued: “We are also focused on leakage reduction and have committed to more than halve leakage by 2050, with over 20,000 km of water pipe under London and across the Thames Valley this is massively ambitious.
“However, measures to tackle leakage and to reduce customer demand for water will not be sufficient on their own.
“We also need to invest in building new water infrastructure, which is why we’re proposing to invest in several new sources of water across the South East.”
The proposals are now in the hands of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, who will consult regulators before deciding whether to approve them.
