THAMES WATER SEWAGE PUMP – A QUESTION OF TRUST?
Over 200 local residents and business owners turned up at the Kick Up a Stink meeting to campaign against Thames Water’s scheme to pump sewage into the river near Teddington.
The meeting was organised by the local campaign SOLAR – Save our Lands and River – at the riverside restaurant The Wharf and speakers included local Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson, who has raised the issue in the House of Commons and invited the government Minister responsible, Steve Reed to visit the site.
In a passionate address she said: “How can we trust Thames Water when we have seen them pump billions of sewage into the river. I need you all to keep campaigning so we can stop this project.”
Lead campaigner and former Olympic rower Ian McNuff emphasised that this was not a ‘no’ campaign but there were ‘greener and cheaper alternatives’ to the Thames Water scheme which he said could cost £1billion.
SOLAR had sent Thames Water a formal invitation to attend the important meeting but according to Mr McNuff the corporate giant did not feel it was a ‘constructive environment’ to engage with the local community. They say it is a drought-resilience scheme and will ensure water suppliers in London.
Their conspicuous absence and failure to attend and explain and justify the project known as the TDRA (Teddington Direct River Abstraction Scheme) was represented by a clear poster saying ‘Thames Water Declined Our Invitation’ which, when announced, was met with a resounding chorus of ‘BOO’ from the audience.
Free protest postcards were made available for the audience as well as leaflets explaining the background and Stop The Thames Sewage Pump T-shirts were available.
The postcard states: “I am writing to object in full to Thames Water’s proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) Scheme. TDRA will cause permanent damage to the local environment and the water quality of the River Thames. There are many better alternative schemes Thames Water has failed to consider properly. By including my name and postcode below I expect my objection to be taken into account and formally registered by Thames Water.”
According to the leaflets handed out “at least 2.5 times more treated sewage will enter the river than water taken out’ and ‘to deliver this scheme Thames Water plans to dig a 4.5km tunnel under homes, parks and businesses in Isleworth, Twickenham, Teddington, Ham and Kingston and construction will last up to 2 years.”
WHAT THAMES WATER SAYS:
We’re proposing a new river abstraction on the River Thames, supported by water recycling. This will help support London during periods of prolonged dry weather.
How the abstraction works
We’d remove water from the river upstream of Teddington Weir via a new intake. It would travel along a new pipeline connecting to an existing underground tunnel. This would flow up to 75 million litres of water each day to our reservoirs to become drinking water.
Water would be replaced with recycled water from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works. It would transfer to the river along a new underground tunnel to an outfall structure. This would be upstream of Teddington Weir.
By doing this, we’d be able to access additional supplies of water while maintaining river levels. This ensures the river environment and ecology are protected.
When the project would be operational
We’d only do this during droughts, which we estimate will happen roughly every two years. This is usually between late summer and late autumn. As part of this, we’d reach an operating agreement with the Environment Agency that would set out when we can use it.
To keep the treatment facility in good working order and ready for when we need it most, we’d keep it in “standby mode”. This means we’d run a low volume of water through it outside drought periods. It would then release through our existing outfall at Isleworth Ait.
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- New intake on the riverbank upstream of Teddington Weir. It would take up to 75 million litres of water per day from the River Thames during drought periods.
- A short connecting pipeline to be built underground to move water from the River Thames. It will move water to the existing Thames Lee Tunnel. This will help our Lee Valley reservoirs levels and provide more drinking water.
- New Tertiary Treatment Plant (TTP) at Mogden Sewage Treatment Works (STW). This would provide an additional cleaning process for up to 75 million litres per day of water.
- The recycled water would be transferred to the Thames via a new 4.2km-long tunnel.
- A new outfall structure would be built downstream of the new intake. It will discharge recycled water, maintaining river levels and protecting habitats and wildlife.
- Outside of drought periods, the TTP would operate in standby mode and run at a much lower capacity. We’d release the “maintenance flow” of recycled water produced in standby mode. It will be released into the tidal Thames via our existing outfall at Isleworth Ait.
The Project aims to create a sustainable approach to water resilience for customers in London. It will address London’s supply challenges by providing a new resilient source of water when it’s most needed. It will protect and enhance the environment by protecting the health of the River Thames and will leave a positive legacy through enhancements to the local environment.
Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) is a vital drought resilience project for London and is a key part of our plan to secure water supplies for the future. During droughts, it would supply up to an additional 75 million litres of water per day – enough for over 500,000 people. It would help taps continue to flow, businesses and schools to remain open, and daily life to
go on as usual.