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Tag: Sewage

Thames Water is Gaslighting the Public – Here’s the Truth

Posted on by Molly Allen
By Henry Shepherd, Community Campaigns Coordinator, River Action

 

Twisting and turning more than the Thames itself

As the boat race weekend approaches, Thames Water has gone on the offensive – not to clean up the Thames, but to spin the facts and put the public at risk.

Yesterday, we revealed that our 40+ water tests along the Boat Race course over the past month show the Thames would be classified as ‘poor water quality’ according to the Environment Agency regulations, with 29.5% of our samples exceeding safe limits for entering the water. This is despite it being the driest March in over 100 years….if they can’t keep the river clean in these conditions, how can they be trusted?

In a response statement, Thames Water attempted to cite ‘excellent’ water quality results, referencing data from a boat club in Hammersmith.

But here’s what they didn’t tell you.

That testing wasn’t done with Thames Water. The testing was carried out by our friends at Fulham Reach Boat Club and was actually funded by River Action. Thames Water conveniently cherry-picked a subset of this data, and, unbeknownst to them, we funded it!

Additionally, the data they selected came from a single weekly test at only one point along the course (4 tests in total). In contrast, our data, revealed yesterday, consisted of over 40 tests across the entire length of the Boat Race course from 10th March.

In short: Thames Water carefully curated the one stat that suited their PR and presented distorted information, putting public health at risk.

Thames Water simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth about basic water quality risks, and have once again willingly put river users’ health at risk, prioritising misleading headlines rather than fixing pipes.

The 2025 boat race course with River Action test sites

The Kew cover-up 

It gets worse.

On Tuesday, we were alerted to the possibility of a burst sewage pipe near Kew Bridge, with sewage reportedly spilling directly into the river just upstream of the Boat Race finish line.

We immediately called Thames Water’s pollution hotline to enquire about the issue, but were assured there were no problems to report. However, after investigating the site ourselves, we found Thames Water vans and huge sewage tankers stationed on the riverbank at Kew Bridge. After speaking with the crew, they confirmed the incident. At that time, it appeared that sewage was simply entering the river, just a mile upstream of the Boat Race finish line.

Thames Water’s initial denial of the problem highlights their true priorities: managing headlines, not public health. How much sewage has been allowed to flow into the river without the public being informed?

This issue is compounded by a separate sewage pipe even closer to the Boat Race finish line, downstream at Kew Transfer. The monitoring system for that pipe had been offline since January 19th, mysteriously coming back online the day we published our testing results (how convenient?) This means that no one knows how much sewage has been flowing into the river unchecked from that sewage overflow.

When people, including hundreds of junior rowers, and professional boat race crews, rely on this critical information to stay safe, it’s not just unacceptable – it’s dangerous.

Thames Water vans and sewage tankers near Kew Bridge on Tuesday

A failure of infrastructure, regulation, and honesty

With almost no rain recently, this pollution isn’t just a result of outdated infrastructure and unmonitored storm overflows. It reveals a much deeper issue: that even after treatment, final discharged waste water from sewage works is still far from safe. Treated effluent has no legal limit on E. Coli levels, so it frequently contains high levels of dangerous contaminants, including fecal matter and bacteria. The treatment process used by Thames Water, though permitted, falls far short of the standards needed to protect public health and the environment.

The real issue lies in the regulatory framework – unless a waterway has “bathing water status,” is home to a fish farm, or serves as a place of abstraction, there are no legal obligations to ensure that treated sewage is free from harmful substances. That’s why we’re campaigning for sewage treatment plants to be upgraded, better water quality monitoring, and enforceable limits on water quality – something that bathing water status would require.

But even with this, the Tideway Tunnel – which Thames Water touts as the solution – won’t protect us. The Tunnel is designed to manage storm overflows, not the continuous discharge of untreated or poorly treated sewage. It’s a temporary fix for a much deeper, systemic problem, and only reduces downstream pollution, which for half of the Boat Race course is irrelevant. The other half of the course – upstream of Hammersmith – is exposed to all the sewage pollution flowing along the Thames accumulated from the upstream catchment.

It is no surprise that all our tests taken upstream of the Tideway Tunnel show high levels of E.coli. This is the end of the Boat Race course and why we implore the Oxford and Cambridge teams not to throw their cox in the water. It is not safe.

Time for accountability

This isn’t just about rowing. This is about whether people can trust water companies to keep them safe. Thames Water has failed across the board:

  • They haven’t invested in modern monitoring systems.
  • They’ve lobbied for billions in bailouts while paying bonuses to executives.
  • They’ve allowed infrastructure to rot – and lied about it when questioned.

We believe Thames Water has forfeited its social licence to operate. It’s time to put the company into Special Administration, restructure it in the public interest, and end the cycle of pollution-for-profit.

River Action will continue exposing Thames Water’s spin  – not just this week, but every time they attempt to dodge accountability. This is your river, not theirs.

Sewage Spill Duration Hits Record High in 2024

Posted on by Molly Allen

2024 Sewage Scandal: New Data, Same Dirty Rivers

The Environment Agency (EA) has released its latest Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) data, revealing that sewage spills in 2024 remain alarmingly high. Despite some claims of progress, the figures show that little has changed – with sewage pollution still devastating Britain’s rivers, lakes, and coastlines.

Sewage Crisis by the Numbers

The latest data highlights:

  • Total spill duration hit record high – Sewage spilled into waterways for 3.6 million hours
  • Slight drop in average spills per overflow – While the number of spills per overflow have fallen slightly, there have been a shocking 450,000 spills which is 50% higher than 2022
  • Highest number of monitored overflows – With more EDM devices commissioned, the scale of the problem is becoming clearer.

Same Scandal, Another Year

River Action’s CEO, James Wallace condemned the figures, calling them further proof of a broken and corrupt water industry:

“We sound like a broken record—but that’s because nothing has changed. The water industry is still broken. A year on from last year’s catastrophic pollution figures, the true scale of the UK’s water crisis is only now coming to light, thanks to increased real-time monitoring. The numbers are staggering: 3.6 million hours of sewage spills from 450 thousand discharges. That’s equivalent to 412 continuous years of sewage polluting our rivers, lakes and seas”

He specifically called out Thames Water, the country’s largest water company, which discharged raw sewage for a shocking 298,081 hours with a 51% increase in sewage spills hours since 2023.

“Yet, despite this environmental catastrophe, they’ve been given the green light to saddle a company on the brink of collapse with an additional £3 billion in debt.”

Unmonitored Failings and Toxic Effluent

The CEO also warned that the true scale of the problem is even worse, as much of the industry’s pollution goes unreported:

“About 30% of Thames Water’s infrastructure is unmapped, meaning vast sections remain a mystery to both the company and regulators. On top of this, most sewage treatment permits don’t require the removal of dangerous pathogens, meaning even ‘treated’ effluent still poses a huge threat to public health and wildlife.”

The Public Pays the Price

Despite the ongoing sewage scandal, regulators have signed off on massive bill increases for customers, forcing them to pay for the industry’s failings.

“Instead of tackling this scandal, the water regulator has signed off massive bill increases for the public, while water company bosses continue to pocket obscene salaries and investors reap profits while costly debts soar. A third of my water bill services junk debt. It’s madness.”

River Action Calls for Special Administration and Reform

River Action is calling on the Government to place Thames Water into special administration to prevent further financial and environmental damage. The Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, must also deliver a radical new model for the industry—one that prioritises people and the planet over profit.

“Rather than fixing leaky pipes and investing in infrastructure, these companies have treated our rivers and coastlines like an open sewer—and regulators have let them get away with it. The Water Commission must put an end to this failed privatisation experiment and force real reform of the industry and regulators. We need to learn from our European neighbours, and use finance and governance models that put people and nature before investors.”

Enough Excuses—It’s Time for Action

The latest sewage spills data proves that the water industry continues to fail the public and the environment. With the Water Commission’s recommendations looming, the UK stands at a crossroads:

Will we continue to tolerate pollution-for-profit, or

Will we demand a fair, public-first water system that protects our rivers and coastlines?

The public deserves more than excuses—it’s time for genuine reform.

Court of Appeal upholds Thames Water’s £3 billion rescue plan – “This decision is a disaster for Thames Water bill payers and the environment”

Posted on by Molly Allen

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Court of Appeal has decided to uphold Thames Water’s £3 billion rescue plan. This is a devastating blow to both the River Thames and its millions of customers. Instead of prioritising urgent investment in tackling pollution and infrastructure failures, this bailout will see a third of bill increases swallowed by massive interest payments, as highlighted by River Action’s CEO, James Wallace:

“Customers will now have to pay the price for the failing water company with about a third of their increased water bills paying for massive interest payments while our rivers remain choked with sewage”

WHY WAS THIS RULING IMPORTANT?

Sewage continues to pour into our rivers, and Thames Water customers are left footing the bill for a broken, profit-driven system that has failed to deliver the basic services they pay for. This ruling effectively rewards financial mismanagement while leaving our waterways in crisis.

“This is not just about managing a crisis; it’s about fixing a broken system that has allowed private companies to profit at the expense of public well-being.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

River Action believes the Government must immediately place Thames Water into Special Administration to prevent further financial and environmental harm. Instead of propping up an unsustainable model, the independent Water Commission must propose a governance and financial framework that puts people and the environment first. This is not just about rescuing a single company, it’s about ending a system that has allowed private firms to profit while rivers die and communities suffer.

“Maintaining the status quo will only perpetuate this corporate takeover of the lifeblood of our economy and land. The government can and should step in now”

Up to their necks in it: River Action unveils provocative ‘Pooster’ to expose water companies profiting while poisoning our water

Posted on by lewis

Revealed: A new billboard made of £50 notes, stained brown with sewage  waste, symbolises the dirty profits of water companies, while separately exposing that Thames Water has dumped sewage into the Thames for 7,002 hours since January 2024.

Today, River Action, organising the November 3rd March for Clean Water, is launching a bold new advertising billboard in central London that highlights the shocking reality of water companies making billions while polluting the UK’s rivers, lakes, and seas.

Dubbed the ‘Pooster,’ the 48 sheet (3m high x 6m wide) billboard, is constructed from fake £50 notes, stained brown with sterilised manure and mixed with water from polluted beaches, rivers and streams across the UK, symbolising the dirtied profits that water companies continue to make at the expense of our environment. The ‘Pooster’ displays a bold caption: “This money is stained with crap, just like water company profits’.

This striking visual dirty protest comes as part of River Action’s wider campaign against water pollution and will be officially launched with a crowd of wild swimmers fed up with dirty money making water dirty at 10am on Monday 21 October ahead of the March for Clean Water, set to take place in central London on November 3rd. The billboard displayed at the junction of Harleyford Road and South Lambeth Road close to Vauxhall Station is a high-traffic area of central London to draw maximum attention to the issue.

The ‘Pooster’ exposes the uncomfortable truth: despite dividend payouts to shareholders totalling £72.9 billion over the last 33 years and excessive levels of executive pay and bonuses, water companies across the UK are failing to protect our waterways.

River Action reveals extent of Thames Water discharges

Today River Action can reveal that since January 1 2024, Thames Water, the ‘pooster’ child of the nation’s broken water and sewage system, alone has discharged at least 7,002 hours of untreated human sewage into the River Thames, equal to 291 days. A large number of these discharges are believed to have been unlawful. The shocking findings from River Action’s research come at a time when Thames Water is facing financial collapse having paid out billions to shareholders and unknown amounts of interest on its escalating debts since privatisation – at the expense of future-proofing its crumbling infrastructure.

Meanwhile, as river users and wildlife suffer the consequences of poisoned water, Thames Water has continued to award failure with CEO compensation packages reaching up to £1.71 million last year alone.

“Up to their necks in it” –  River Action’s campaigns manager Amy Fairman  

Head of Campaigns at River Action Amy Fairman said, “Water companies like Thames Water are up to their necks in it, treating our rivers, seas and lakes like open sewers. Meanwhile they squander bill payers cash with impunity, splashing it on shareholder dividends, bonuses for their bosses and paying huge levels of interest on their junk-rated  debt.

“Our ‘Pooster’ drives home the point: the financial gains they make are filthy money. It’s time for change. The UK public is fed up with sewage-drenched waterways and our campaign demands urgent reform.”

Laura Reineke from the Henley Mermaids is attending the Pooster launch with her fellow wild swimmers, in bathing costumes and hats.  She said, “Our beautiful river Thames is being used as an open sewer, the epically mismanaged monopoly that is Thames Water is in charge of our precious blue space.  This has to change! We are fed up with swimming in poo. Freshwater species are declining at a rate of five times that of species that live on land, our biodiversity needs rescuing. Our river is visibly poorly, choking in chemical’s and suffocating in poo. This assault on our wildlife and our health has to stop, water should be run for the benefit of humans and the wildlife that calls it home.”

March for Clean Water, Sunday 3rd November

With public outrage at an all-time high, River Action’s billboard exposes the urgent need for reform in the water industry.

The campaign builds momentum ahead of the March for Clean Water, where thousands of people, alongside more than 100 organisations as diverse as the Women’s Institute, Extinction Rebellion and the National Trust, will demand action from the government against water polluters. Marchers are encouraged to wear blue, symbolising their fight for clean water.

River Action and a coalition of 100s of campaign groups want to see the robust enforcement of existing environmental laws with hefty fines for illegal pollution, the end of pollution for profit with no more excessive shareholder dividends and executive pay and the resourcing   and reforming the environmental regulators so they can do their job, putting public benefit before facilitating private greed.

Download a hi-res ‘Pooster’ image here.

ENDS

Notes to editor
Global, Media & Entertainment Group provided the billboard space and creative agency Uncharted developed the creative concept.

For safety reasons, unlike the carelessness of the water companies, the ‘Pooster’ was made using sterilised waste diluted with water collected from rivers, beaches, and streams across the UK.

The source for the figure of 7,002 hours of discharges by Thames Water (taken from Faringdon in Oxfordshire to Dartford in Kent) so far in 2024 was calculated on 15/10/2024 using this: https://www.sewagemap.co.uk/ 

The source for the £72.9 billion in dividends is here: https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47165/ 

The source for the figure on CEO compensation at Thames Water is here: https://www.thameswater.co.uk/media-library/home/about-us/investors/our-results/2024-reports/thames-water-annual-report-2023-24.pdf 

River Action is an environmental charity on a mission to rescue Britain’s rivers from the deluge of pollution that has left the majority of our waterways in a severely degraded ecological condition. Our campaigns to date have focussed on tackling the severe environmental crises created by both sewage and agricultural pollution.

The March for Clean Water will be a legal, peaceful, family-friendly and inclusive demonstration. On Sunday 3rd November, we will muster at Albert Embankment from 1100, and start marching at 1145. The rally will start in Parliament Square at 1330 and is due to finish by 1500.

To date, more than 100 organisations have pledged their support for the march including the National Trust, Women’s Institute, RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace, Angling Trust, Wildfish, British Rowing, Good Law Project, Clean Ilkley River Group, Activist Anglers, Save the Wye Coalition and Henley Mermaids.

Vile amounts of human sewage detected at popular rowing site on the Thames. British Rowing and River Action warn river users to take extreme caution

Posted on by lewis
Sewage pollution filmed in the Thames at Putney (03/05/24).

British Rowing and River Action warn that vile amounts of human sewage has been discharged by Thames Water along the Putney Embankment, home to over ten rowing clubs on the River Thames.

This follows news that the organisers of the Boulter’s to Bray Swim in Maidenhead have cancelled this year’s community event over concerns about the water cleanliness. And days after water-based sports across the UK united to call on the government to act to address pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

Thames RC captain Huw Jones said: “The frequency and severity of sewage discharges into the tidal Thames is increasing. On Thursday this week the visible signs of raw sewage on Putney Embankment led the club to cancel rowing sessions to safeguard athlete health. This situation is unacceptable, and we call on Thames Water to take immediate action.”

CEO of British Rowing Alastair Marks said, “We are gravely concerned about the state of the Thames and the effect this pollution is having on our rowers and their safety. Over the last few days, we’ve had reports of sessions cancelled due to concerns over water quality and countless photographs of the obvious pollution. We urge our community to take care of their health first and foremost and to continue following our guidance for rowing when the water quality is poor.”

CEO of River Action James Wallace said, “The shocking reality is that it is simply not safe to swim in rivers like the Thames due to the huge levels of recent raw sewage discharges. Regular E.coli testing which River Action, and other citizen scientists, has carried in recent weeks show the pathogen levels at a multiple of what would be considered safe for bathing.

“We have also been approached now by dozens of river users who have become seriously ill after coming into contact with the river. It is also scandalous that there has been no public health advice on this issue from any government body – and it’s up to charitable organisations like River Action to test the river and keep the public safe.

“Where is the Environment Agency and the Department for Health? Why aren’t they holding the polluters to account and protecting people’s health? Frankly, the Thames should come with a health warning.”

Guidance on rowing when water quality is poor

Rowers spend a huge amount of their daily lives either on or by the water. British Rowing, River Action and The Rivers Trust have developed a set of guidelines for rowing on poor quality water. ‘Guidance on rowing when water quality is poor’ has been written to minimise the risk of contracting illness due to proximity to polluted water. 

Included are helpful tips on the importance of covering cuts, grazes, and blisters with waterproof dressings, taking care not to swallow river water that splashes close to the mouth, wearing suitable footwear when launching or recovering a boat, and cleaning all equipment thoroughly.

ENDS

For interviews call Ian at River Action on 07377 547 362 and Lily Fraser at British Rowing on 07540 722442