Campaigners urge councils into Thames Water action

River Action said councils should take action against Thames Water if they find it has caused a statutory nuisance

Campaigners say they will submit statutory nuisance complaints against Thames Water to ask councils to hold the company legally responsible for sewage pollution.

River Action said documents submitted by Thames Water to regulator Ofwat showed work to 93 sewage treatment works and water pumping stations it said it would upgrade remains incomplete.

It said it will submit complaints to councils in London, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire, asking them to take "decisive action" to stop Thames Water polluting.

A Thames Water spokesperson said it told regulators in 2023 it would not be able to deliver all of the upgrades but that it is "committed to seeing waterways thrive".

Five-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave has backed River Action's call

In action backed by Olympic rowing champions Sir Steve Redgrave and Imogen Grant, who said she will hand in a notice to Wokingham Council herself, River Action said sewage dumping constitutes a statutory nuisance in law.

It said it hopes the councils will investigate whether a statutory nuisance has happened or is happening and will take steps to investigate.

If the authority finds there is a nuisance, it can issue an abatement notice, which would order Thames Water to stop the nuisance or face criminal prosecution.

"As someone who has spent my life on the water, I am appalled by the pollution that Thames Water continues to allow," Sir Steve said.

"That's why I'm joining River Action and communities along the River Thames in taking action to hold this company to account.

"Our rivers should be safe for everyone. It is unacceptable that people are being forced to fight for clean, healthy waterways."

The group said it has or will send statutory nuisance complaints to the following councils:

• West Oxfordshire

• Cherwell

• Vale of White Horse

• South Oxfordshire

• Oxford

• Wokingham

• West Berkshire

• Hackney

• Hammersmith and Fulham

• Richmond upon Thames

• Southwark

• Hounslow

• Wandsworth

• Elmbridge

• Runnymede

• Buckinghamshire

Grant, who won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, said: "Rivers are our lifeblood, for sport, wildlife, and community, and it's shocking to see them poisoned by untreated sewage time and time again.

"I have filed a nuisance claim with Wokingham because I've had enough of pollution putting me and other river users at risk," she added.

"I stand with River Action to hold Thames Water accountable and protect the rivers we all rely on."

River Action said that sewage spill hours from Newbury into the River Kennet had increased by 240% between 2019 and 2024.

It said Thames Water data showed E. coli levels in treated effluent in the Thames at Henley-on-Thames reached more than 30 times the safe limit for designated bathing water.

The group says one of the problem treatment works is in Henley, Oxfordshire

The Thames Water spokesperson said the company knows "how much people enjoy and appreciate rivers" and that is why it is "embarking on the biggest upgrade to our network in 150 years and targeting a record of £9.5bn (in 2022/23 prices) of investment across our wastewater assets over the next five years".

These upgrades will increase treatment capacity, lower the number of storm discharges and implement nutrient reduction schemes.

"We informed Ofwat, the Environment Agency and other industry stakeholders in August 2023 that some Water Industry National Environmental Programme (WINEP) schemes would not be delivered on time," they added.

They said Thames Water "remains committed to delivering all our WINEP obligations".

"We are committed to seeing waterways thrive, but we can't do it alone. Farming, industry, road runoff, wildlife, and increasingly extreme weather also play a role in river health," the spokesperson added.

"We understand that all untreated discharges, even when permitted, are unacceptable, however it's important to remember the sewage system was historically designed this way to prevent sewage backing up into people's homes."