Latest news with #Thames21
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Thames Water sewage treatment works 'cannot handle' demand
More than half of Thames Water's sewage treatment works are unable to deal with the volume of sewage they receive, campaigners have conducted by the Oxford Rivers Improvement Campaign (ORIC) identified 181 treatment works that could not handle the amount of sewage said in some cases, such as Hanwell and Bourton-on-the-Water, facilities were treating less than half of the sewage Water said it was putting in a "record amount of investment" to address "ageing infrastructure" and meet the demands of population growth and climate change. ORIC said 94 treatment works had between 80% to 100% of the necessary treatment capacity, 70 were between 60% and 80%, and an "alarming" 17 sites functioned at less than 60%."A lack of treatment capacity leads to untreated sewage discharges/storm overflows happening more frequently," it added."Most of the worst-performing works are found outside of London in headwater streams and tributaries of the River Thames, where raw or partially treated sewage is likely to be more harmful to the river ecosystem, as small waterbodies cannot dilute pollutants effectively."The findings can be viewed on the Oxford Rivers Project Portal's interactive map. John Bryden, head of improving rivers at environmental charity Thames21, and regional development manager at The Rivers Trust, said: "Thames Water's underperforming sewage works need to be upgraded to meet modern regulatory requirements."Where housing growth is planned, upgrades to sewage works are needed before the development is constructed."ORIC co-founder Mark Hull said there was a "rising tide of raw sewage discharges" into the Thames, describing it as "astonishing" how some treatment works were operating without sufficient capacity. Thames Water, which has 351 sewage treatment works, was hit with a record £122.7m fine by regulator Ofwat for repeatedly breaching rules over sewage spills and making payouts to shareholders when in dire financial Fayers, the company's waste and bioresources director, said: "We believe that all storm discharges to the environment, even when permitted, are unacceptable, however, it's important to remember that the system was historically designed in this way to prevent sewage backing up into homes. "This is an issue that will take many years and significant investment to resolve and is at the heart of our storm overflow action plan."Transparency is at the heart of what we do, and we were the first water company to publish a real time data map on our website showing all storm overflows, before it became legal requirement to do so." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- BBC News
Free activities across London during week celebrating rivers
When Londoners say "the river", most will mean the River there are 25 other rivers in the Greater London area, with familiar names like the Brent, the Fleet, the Ravensbourne, Stamford Brook and the Westbourne. London Rivers Week is an annual campaign encouraging the public to celebrate all the city's rivers - and the many projects taking place to protect in its ninth year, it runs from 30 May to 8 June and has a range of free guided walks, talks and cultural events. Chris Coode from environmental charity Thames21 – who helps coordinate the week of events - said its aim is to "inspire hope and drive action, encouraging Londoners to connect with and protect their local blue spaces". He added: "We invite everyone to get involved in the many exciting events taking place throughout the week."Free activities on offer include a picnic and water sampling event at Chinbrook Meadows in Lewisham; walking the length of the River Crane from its headwaters at Headstone Manor in Harrow to Isleworth, and a "hands-on" wetland maintenance session removing excess reeds in Memorial Park in of the events are already fully booked, including a kayak 'paddle and pick' litter clean on the River Thames near Fulham and day of craft activities for children by the River Wandle in south London. Thames21 works with around 7,000 volunteers to restore and look after rivers, water and nature across London and the Thames was developed from a partnership programme supported by Keep Britain Tidy, the Port of London Authority, the Environment Agency, Thames Water, British Waterways, the Corporation of London and 19 local authorities. The charity is now independent, funded by a number of charitable trusts, companies and public river restoration initiatives include projects such as adding wood material to a river to 'naturalise' it, removing concrete barriers from its banks, or reconnecting a river to its floodplain. Recent projects include 'Rewilding the Rom', which reconnected the River Rom in Dagenham, East London, to its floodplain and created a new wetland for people and wildlife to charity also installed cobbles and gravel on the riverbed to enhance fish passage in River Ravensbourne in Bromley.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Plastic wet wipe ban by government is urgent
A charity has called for the government to commit to a date when plastic will be banned in wet wipes, to help prevent the effect they are having on the River Thames. Thames21 says wet wipes are not only creating artificial islands, harming wildlife and impacting water quality; they are reshaping the waterway itself. The charity said although plans were announced last year to ban the sale of plastic wet wipes, progress had halted following the general election. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "Plastic wet wipes clog up our sewers, pollute our waterways and harm our treasured wildlife. That is why the government will ban them." Liz Gyekye from Thames21 said: "Wet wipes are a massive problem, it's devastating."The principal challenge is that people flush the wet wipes down the toilets, then you get sewage overflows after heavy rain that chuck them into the river."They then destroy wildlife because it ingests these microplastics when they break down."Ms Gyekye said the charity wanted the government to act "urgently". "We had the previous Conservative government last year commit to banning plastic in wet wipes, and now we're calling on this government to implement this ban," she said. Asked why the public were still flushing wet wipes despite the obvious damage being caused, Ms Gyekye said: "I think the issue is over labels - some labels say they are 'flushable' - but there is no marine biodegradable standard out there - so they should all just go in the bin."She added: "Consumers need to do their part and dispose of their waste correctly, flushing down only the 3 Ps (pee, poo, and paper)." The director of sustainability at the Port of London Authority (PLA), Grace Rawnsley, said the new Thames super sewer "should help" cope with flushed wet wipes, but said the ban on plastic in wet wipes was "key" to achieving a cleaner river. Volunteer Janice Bruce-Brande said that although the wet wipe island she was surveying was "soul destroying", she had noticed a possible improvement since the introduction of the super sewer. But she said it was still "so disheartening" to see the wet wipe problem. 'We will ban them' In response to Thames21's calls, a Defra spokesperson told the BBC: "Plastic wet wipes clog up our sewers, pollute our waterways and harm our treasured wildlife."That is why the government will ban them."This is part of our wider plan to clean up our rivers. We have passed our landmark Water Act, introducing two-year prison sentences for polluting water bosses, and banning unfair million-pound bonuses."
