Campaigners urge government control of Thames Water, warning Mayor of London swimmable Thames a ‘pipe dream’ under polluting for profit utility

As Thames Water’s top brass meet with the Greater London Authority to explore ways to make the capital’s waterways swimmable, the failing utility is simultaneously seeking High Court approval for a £3 billion rescue plan—prompting campaigners to demand that the Government take back control of the water company.

They warn that “a swimmable Thames is a pipe dream with Thames Water in tatters” and reveal dangerously high levels of E. coli were detected last week near to the site of today’s London Assembly meeting, underscoring the urgent need for accountability and action.

Giving evidence at today’s public hearing is CEO of River Action James Wallace. He says, “We applaud the Mayor of London for his bold and commendable actions aimed at making London’s waterways swimmable. His commitment to ensuring cleaner, healthier waterways for Londoners demonstrates strong leadership that will benefit generations to come. We have seen him take a firm stand against corporate interests pushing for a third runway at Heathrow due to air pollution concerns—now we need him to double down on tackling the water pollution crisis by standing up to yet more corporate polluters.

“Let’s be clear, until Thames Water is held accountable as the main polluter of the River Thames and made to invest in clearing up the mess of decades of profiteering and polluting, nothing will change and the Mayor’s ambition will remain a pipedream.

“As evidenced by soaring levels of debt and sky high interest rates, the privatisation experiment has failed. The only solution is for the Government to take back ownership of Thames Water and write off the bad debt that stains customer bills and the river. We call upon the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority to pressure the Government to put Thames Water in special administration and restructure its finances prioritising the  people and the environment, not private profit.”

Revealed: 2025 sewage discharges and E.coli testing on the Thames

Since the start of 2025, Thames Water has dumped at least 784 hours and 58 minutes of sewage directly into the Thames, from its source at Cricklade to its mouth at Long Reach—wreaking havoc on vital ecosystems and endangering public health.

Now campaigners can reveal that last week water quality testing by River Action citizen scientists using a Fluidion World Health Organization WHO accredited verified E.Coli analyser, found dangerously high levels of pollution from sewage pollution along the River Thames at Greenwich near to today’s Assembly meeting. Between January 27 and January 31,  River Action conducted eight water quality tests and found levels of E.coli up to 15 times higher than the Environment Agency considers the minimum acceptable level for designated bathing waters. The levels found were far in excess of what is considered ‘safe’ by the environmental regulator.

Protest led by Friends of the Thames Friends of the Thames, a newly formed not-for-profit seed-funded by River Action and directed by clean river advocate Laura Reineke, today leads a protest outside of the public hearing on making the Thames a swimmable river.

From 9am, paddlers, swimmers, rowers and community groups will demand a cleaner, healthier capital river for all; pointing the finger at Thames Water for persistent and often illegal discharges of sewage that pose a serious threat to human health, water security and wildlife.

Laura Reineke, co-founder of Friends of the Thames, said: “The Thames is more than just a river; it is an iconic symbol of our country and provides the water that sustains our capital’s economy. Its persistent pollution is unacceptable, and Friends of the Thames is here to ensure that action is taken, and promises are kept.  We as a country have become disconnected from our nature and countryside; I’d love to see all communities reconnect with the Thames, and foster a love for her that flows through generations to come.

“We will present Thames Water’s representative with a vial of river water—a stark reminder that their duty is to protect the Thames, a living, breathing river they are suffocating with raw sewage.”Wildlife biologist and broadcaster Liz Bonnin added, “I join River Action in calling for the Mayor of London to hold Thames Water to account for decades of unchecked pollution in the name of profit, devastating this important riverine ecosystem and threatening public health. The company’s plans to increase customer bills, despite paying out £158.3 million in dividends last year alone, speaks volumes. We must make the polluter pay and transform the industry so that it serves people and the planet, as it always should have.”

ENDS

  Notes to editor

• Between January 27 and January 31, River Action conducted 8 tests on the River Thames at Drawdock Slipway, Greenwich. Tests results indicate an average of 8,233 E.coli colony forming units (CFU) per 100ml of water. To meet bathing water quality standards, this level should be below 900 CFU per 100ml to meet the lowest water quality deemed safe for swimming. Our highest recorded spike reached 15,000 CFU, more than fifteen times the acceptable limit.
• Dedicated to uniting communities along the Thames, Friends of the Thames will advocate for 1) restoration; 2) hold polluters accountable; 3) build a citizen science network to monitor water quality from source to sea.
• Friends of the Thames will connect communities from source to sea and closely monitor the Mayor of London’s commitment to delivering on promises to clean up the capital’s lifeblood river. The grassroots campaign group will build alliances with river users across the Thames catchment, spanning urban areas and the commuter belt. It will bring together existing citizen scientists and data and establish a network of new citizen scientists to fill in any gaps from the source of the nation’s capital river in Gloucestershire to the Thames Estuary at Southend-on-Sea.
• Friends of the Thames will reach out to councils across the Thames catchment area, inviting them to sign a Rights of the River Thames  embedding the rights of the Thames as a valuable and irreplaceable ecosystem, and giving the river a voice. This pledge will emphasise the shared responsibility of communities, authorities, and corporations to protect the nation’s capital river for future generations, and begin the process of changing the way we interact with the river, from using and over managing her, to a living, breathing artery that feeds us and the nature that calls her home.

For more information, please contact Laura Reineke friendsofthethames@gmail.com, 07989396210 .

• High-resolution images and interviews are available upon request.