Communities across south-east England have launched the first coordinated wave of legal complaints to hold Thames Water accountable for widespread sewage pollution, according to The Guardian.

The action involves residents from 13 areas, including Hackney, Oxford, Richmond upon Thames, and Wokingham, who are sending formal statutory nuisance complaints to their local authorities. These complaints demand urgent action from Thames Water, claiming that sewage pollution negatively affects their lives and presents a direct threat to public health. The legal mechanism is a powerful, yet simple, tool under Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which covers any activity that unreasonably interferes with the use or enjoyment of land and is likely to cause injury to health.

Campaign groups highlighted that the pollution stems not only from raw sewage discharged during storm overflows but also from the poor quality of treated effluent. River Action stated that 93 sewage treatment works and water pumping stations which the utility had previously promised to upgrade remain unfinished, leaving rivers exposed to continued pollution and dangerously high levels of bacteria. The sources revealed that this information was based on documents submitted by Thames Water to the water regulator, Ofwat. Data for the Newbury sewage treatment plant, for example, showed that raw sewage discharges into the protected River Kennet increased by 240% between 2019 and 2024.

The collective legal fight has drawn high-profile support, with Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave joining the action. Redgrave has also submitted a nuisance complaint and stated that he is “appalled by the pollution that Thames Water continues to allow,” according to the Oxford Mail. Other real-world examples cited in the complaints include a 16-year-old rower who became unwell after training on the river and was confirmed to have contracted E coli, an illness that prevented him from sitting some of his GCSE exams.

Campaigners stressed that the goal is fundamental change, not financial compensation. Amy Fairman, head of campaigns at River Action, stated that the action is about “fixing sewage pollution in the Thames for good, not compensating people for past failings,” and that councils “now have a legal duty to act” by investigating the complaints and issuing an abatement notice to Thames Water if a statutory nuisance is found.