09 Oct 2025
Image description: water droplet falling from a tap. Image by Tim from Pixabay Millions of households in England will have to pay even higher water bills than had previously been expected, after five water companies appealed to the UK’s competition regulator. In December regulator Ofwat said average annual household bills could rise by 36% […]
02 Oct 2025
Image description: The Thames at night with the landmark Shard illuminated on the left. Image by Phil Reid on Unsplash. Sky News reported that the group of lenders which are in pole position to own Thames Water and keep it out of government ownership “are to pledge to the industry regulator [Ofwat] that they […]
02 Oct 2025
Image description: A water glass held up by a hand. Image by Manki Kim on Unsplash. Thames Water’s desalination plant, officially known as the Thames Gateway, has cost more than half a billion pounds since 2010 and has run only five times. Over 15 years it has delivered 7.2bn litres of drinking water, equating […]
25 Sep 2025
Image description: wild swimmers doing front crawl in a body of water. Photo by Johanna Steppan on Unsplash A new report from the London assembly has recommended ten new wild swimming locations should be created in London, to accelerate a clean-up of the capital’s waterways and increase nature access. The investigation, titled “Swimmable rivers: […]
04 Sep 2025
Image description: Aerial view of sewage treatment works. Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash Thames Water has unveiled a £20.5 billion investment plan as part of a rescue strategy aimed at stabilising the company and addressing longstanding infrastructure and environmental issues. The plan, outlined in documents seen by creditors, includes significant upgrades to water […]
03 Jul 2025
Image description: aerial view of sewage treatment works. Image by Tom Fisk / Pexels. More than half of Thames Water’s 351 sewage treatment works do not have the capacity to treat the sewage they receive, according to independent research published by the Oxford Rivers Improvement Campaign (ORIC). Using data secured through Environmental Information Requests, […]
12 Jun 2025
Image description: sewage outfalls emptying into the ocean. Image by Tom Fisk. Unfair bonuses banned The government has confirmed “unfair bonuses” have been banned for six water companies with immediate effect, following new measures from the Water (Special Measures) Act coming into force. The government said that in the past 10 years, executives at […]
29 May 2025
Photo description: Tower Bridge straddling the Thames. Image by Albrecht Fietz / Pixabay Thames Water has been fined a total of £122.7m for breaching rules over sewage spills and shareholder payouts, as Ofwat finalised both the penalty and enforcement order which have been imposed on the company. A £104.5m penalty has been issued for […]
