Communities in southeast England make first coordinated legal complaints about sewage pollution Thames Water negatively affects their lives.
Thames Water has failed to complete upgrades to 98 wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations, which have the worst wastewater pollution records, despite promising to invest in them over the past five years.
People in 13 areas, including Hackney, Oxford, Richmond upon Thames and Wokingham, are making statutory complaints about breaches of the law to their local authorities, demanding accountability from Thames Water and urgent action.
Campaigners say that at some sites, pollution is caused not only by raw sewage from storm spills, but also by the quality of treated wastewater coming from Thames Water sites, which poses a direct threat to public health.
At Newbury Sewage Works in the Thames, raw sewage is discharged into the River Kennet, a protected chalk stream. The data shows that untreated wastewater discharges from the plant increased by 240% between 2019 and 2024 from 482 hours to 1,630 hours. Thames says The plant is one of the 26 most polluting facilities.
Thames wants water regulator Ofwat to allow it to charge customers £1.18 billion over the next five years for outstanding upgrades. But the regulator has refused to allow it to pass on the full cost to customers, allowing only £793m because it believes bill payers have already financed the upgrade. It says any increase in costs should be borne by Thames Water.
As the company fails to act, people living in the catchment are making statutory complaints under Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In letters to local authorities they are asking the Thames to take decisive action to stop sewage pollution which is damaging the river.
A statutory nuisance is an activity that unreasonably interferes with the use of land and may cause harm to health.
Residents in the area say sewage pollution from damaged Thames sites and infrastructure has made the rivers unsafe and disrupted recreation, sport, local businesses and everyday entertainment.
They give the example of a 16-year-old rower from Henley Rowing Club who became unwell after training on the river; tests confirmed that he had contracted E. coli. His illness coincided with his GCSE exams, preventing him from repeating and passing some exams.
In West Berkshire, people are highlighting the case of a kayaker who capsized and became unwell in the days that followed. And on Tagga Island in Hampton, in the southwest. LondonFive children fell ill after playing in the River Thames near Hurst Park.
Laura Reinecke, who lives in Henley-on-Thames and founded the campaign group Friends of the Thames, said: “People here are fed up with living next to a river that is treated like an open sewer. We have lodged a nuisance complaint with our local authority because what Thames Water is doing is unacceptable.”
Citizen testing of the river found treated wastewater leaving the Henley plant contained E. coli at levels 30 times the safe bathing water level calculated using published Thames Water data. upon request for environmental information.
“Local residents are unhappy and determined to hold this company accountable for the damage it is causing to our river and our community,” Reinecke said.
Thames has already received record fine of £104 million by Ofwat over environmental failures related to wastewater spills on its network, following its failure to effectively operate and manage wastewater treatment plants and networks.
Amy Fairman, campaign director at River Action, which is supporting the coordinated complaints, said: “This action is about permanently eliminating Thames sewage pollution, not about compensating people for past failures.
“Every local authority must investigate these complaints and, if found to be breaching the law, issue an abatement notice and take enforcement action. Councils now have a legal duty to act.”
She said there was ample evidence of disruption at Thames Water, which was on the brink of bankruptcy. Despite this, ministers have not placed the company into special administration, a process that would have allowed for urgent infrastructure upgrades, putting ownership and management of the public interest first, and protecting communities and the environment.
Thames Water has been approached for comment.
