Following the high profile Lib Dem campaign on Sewage Spills to discredit Thames Water and blame the Government I contacted Thames Water about our Hogsmill water quality.
I was relieved to hear that Thames Water management are very focused on water quality, a plan to eliminate spills and that the poo-power plan to convert waste sewage into electricity is well under way.
Here is their reply
Dear Helen
When we spoke earlier you asked for some more information about two points – first, the Hogsmill River and, second, speculation on Thames’ financial affairs. I’ve also included something on our commitment to reduce storm overflows more generally.
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes
Chris
Chris Shipway
Head of Public Affairs & London Engagement
- Storm sewage discharges
- Putting untreated sewage into rivers is unacceptable to us, to our customers and for the environment. We are absolutely committed to protecting and enhancing our rivers, for the communities who love them, and we want to make untreated discharges unnecessary as quickly as possible.
- Eliminating untreated discharges is not going to be quick, easy, or inexpensive. We welcome the continued support of our customers and regulators, who are as passionate about this topic as we are, as well as extensive collaboration with local communities and other stakeholders, to achieve the cleaner rivers we all want to see.
- From Jan 2023 we’ve provided near-real time data on discharges through our website and from Dec 2023 we’ve had Event Duration Monitors on 100% of our storm overflows.
- During the final two years of this investment period (ie April 2023 – March 2025), we are spending £1.12 billion on our sewage treatment works as part of our largest ever upgrade of sewers and STWs:
o £650 million enhancing and upgrading many STWs to improve resilience and provide extra capacity.
o £470 million on the wider sewer network.
Our draft plan for 2025-30 is to reduce untreated discharges to a maximum of 24 on average, per overflow per year by 2025, and 17 spills on average, per overflow per year by 2030. This plan includes £885 million for reducing storm overflows, part of a £6.6 billion programme to improve the environment. Beyond that we aim to meet the overall govt target of less than 10 discharges on average, per overflow per year by 2050. Our investment to meet targets to 2050 is £13.4 billion.
- Hogsmill River
- We have co-funded a South East Rivers Trust project to build Chamber Mead Wetland on the Hogsmill River, a nature-based solution to improve water quality and reduce the impact of upstream pollution sources. We are looking forward to seeing the wetlands active and providing a variety of habitat and amenity benefit at the Hogsmill Local Nature Reserve, as well as improving water quality for a 200-metre section of this rare chalk stream.
- We are also delivering further habitat enhancement schemes that are due for completion ahead of March 2025 and form part of the Water Industry National Environment Programme. This is a programme set out by the Environment Agency that determines the improvements water and sewerage companies need to deliver through each five-year investment cycle (the current cycle runs from 2020-2025).
- Hogsmill sewage works is set to be upgraded to significantly increase the capacity of the storm tanks. This will reduce the need for untreated sewage discharges during storm conditions. The scheme is due for completion in the next regulatory period (2025 – 2030).
- We also published information last week about the positive impact of projects at Hogsmill and Beddington works to increase renewable energy generation as part of the sewage treatment process:https://www.thameswater.co.uk/news/hogsmill-and-beddington-stw
- Financial issues
We sent the information below to MPs and Council Leaders on 28 March. Thames Water is in a solid financial position - as of 29 February, we had £2.4 billion of liquidity to meet our forecast funding requirements for the 15 months from that date, which does not assume any uncommitted equity or debt funding during that period.
Conversations between Ofwat, our shareholders and other stakeholders are ongoing as we work to secure new equity and a draft determination in June which enables us to deliver record investment for the benefit of our customers and the environment and gives investors the opportunity to earn a fair return. We have spent more money than we have been allowed to recover from our customers since 2009, and our shareholders have taken no external dividends for the last 7 years.
Letter sent from Thames Water CEO Chris Weston on 28 March:
Last summer we announced that our shareholders had agreed to provide £750 million in new equity funding during the current regulatory control period, which runs from 2020-2025. This is in addition to the £500m they provided in March 2023.
This £750m depends on some key conditions being met: us having an approved Turnaround Plan; the company delivering within budgets; and regulatory arrangements that enable the delivery of our business plan for the next regulatory control period, which runs from 2025-2030.
In December, our Board approved our three-year turnaround plan, and its implementation is underway. We have also made good progress in delivering our budgets this financial year.
In parallel, we have been in discussions with Ofwat to understand their feedback on our business plan for 2025-2030 as part of the PR24 process.
Following these discussions, we had to announce today that the conditions for shareholders to provide the first £500 million of an anticipated £750 million of new equity in this regulatory period have not been met. This equity will therefore not be available by the end of March 2024, as we had expected. Our discussions with Ofwat as part of the price review process are ongoing. We intend to pursue all options to secure the equity investment we need from new or existing shareholders.
I want to reassure you that there will be no changes to the services we provide to our customers – your constituents - or the jobs many of them have at Thames Water. We remain in a solid financial position. As of 29 February, the company had £2.4 billion of liquidity, having completed £1.475 billion of funding transactions since October 2023. This provides a cash runway to May 2025.
I also want to be very clear that today’s announcement does not trigger special administration, commonly known as SAR, which Ofwat’s published guidance recognises is a last resort.
I recognise that our customers need to have confidence in the vital services we provide, and I can reassure you that they will continue uninterrupted and without any change. Our 8,000 employees remain focussed on delivering the best possible service for our customers and the environment.
And on Poo-Power Plans, this is what they said,
Ian Ruffell, Head of Waste Water Treatment South London at Thames Water said: "We are thrilled to introduce poo power as a source of energy from two sites in south west London, as we look to play a role in the future of renewable energy.
"The successful use of biomethane conversion at Hogsmill and Beddington shows the dedication of our teams to delivering this project and our own commitment towards reducing our carbon footprint."
Steve Carlow, major connections manager at UK Power Networks, said: “It was great to work with Thames Water on these projects and be part of their journey to Net Zero. We look forward to working with Thames Water on future projects to further assist their transition to a low carbon future.”
