Thames Water pumped into the river Thames 14 billion litres in central London by 2023

Thames Water discharged 14.2 billion litres (14,2 billion gallons) of sewage in the central London river Thames last year. This is according to data which shows the amount of effluent that was flowing out of the pipes of UK’s biggest water company.

These figures, obtained through freedom of information laws reveal, for the first, the volume of sewage that is discharged into the section covered by the Tideway Tunnel (£4.5bn), which will open in the next year.

The announcements come just days after England’s chief physician, Sir Chris Whitty warned that wastewater pollution had become “a public health priority” and needed to be “taken seriously”.

Water companies face a growing backlash from the public against sewage pollution. This issue has been raised on the political agenda of marginal seats in southern England, where the Conservatives hope to win the July 4 election.

Thames Water is the UK’s largest water provider based on the number of its customers. The project Tideway Tunnel, which started eight years ago will reduce the amount of sewage that leaks from the network.

Thames Water uses electronic devices to measure the amount of effluent that flows into the area of the Thames in central London that is within the Tideway Tunnel.

According to Freedom of Information requests made by the Liberal Democrats, these devices have recorded that at least 85.9bn of sewage has been pumped into this part of the river from 2020 to 2023.

According to the latest report, which was released in this month, 14.2 billion litres (or 14,2 billion gallons) of sewage were discharged into the Thames from these sites during last year.

Sarah Olney of the Lib Dems Treasury spokesperson said that the last year’s outflows were “disgusting”. She called for monitors to be installed in every combined sewage pipe, measuring the volume and frequency.

The worst incident occurred in October in Mogden, south-west London. 558mn litres sewage was discharged.

In November, 430mn litres were released at Crossness in Bexley. Mogden, as well as Crossness, are both home to sewage works.

Water companies have also been under greater scrutiny by the public and politicians due to increased attention on sewage spills.

According to research, the 16 water and sewerage companies in England & Wales have accrued a net debt of £62bn and paid out dividends between 1991 and March 2023.

The sector regulator Ofwat had been due to make a decision in June about how much water companies can increase their bills in England and Wales up to 2030. However, it has decided to delay its decision to July 11 in order to accommodate the elections.

The decision could have an impact on the financial health and performance of Thames Water. Thames Water is currently struggling to pay its £18bn in debt and requires a cash injection of £750mn from shareholders for the remainder of the year.

Ministers have drawn up contingency planning to temporarily nationalise the company, which is a type of special administration.

The Lib Dems call for the implementation of special administrative measures. Labour, the main party in opposition, calls for a regulatory overhaul.

Thames Water stated that retrofitting all of its networks with volume monitors was “prohibitively costly”. Thames Water said that it has published plans for upgrading 250 sewage treatment plants and sewers, including a £100mn update of the Mogden treatment works and a £145mn of the Beckton sewer works.

The company stated that “we regard all discharges to be unacceptable” and that improving the health of rivers was a priority for them. They added that once the Tideway Tunnel is operational, it will capture 95% of the untreated sewage flowing into the tidal portion of the river during a typical calendar year.