Labour appeared to be in disarray on Wednesday over ambitions to clean up the River Thames for swimming.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced ambitions to prioritise an area of the river in Teddington, south-west London, to make it safe and clean for swimming as part of a new 10-year strategy to reduce pollution in the river and encourage people to spend time in and around it.
Supporting Khan as he made the announcement was the environment secretary, Steve Reed. But Reed just last week approved the next stage in the development of a controversial scheme to allow Thames Water to pump 75m litres a day of treated sewage into the river at the same spot in Teddington.
Environmental campaigners have raised a number of concerns, such as damage to river systems from the increased water temperatures caused by pumping treated sewage into the river during low flow, a change in the salinity of the river, and the impact on fish and biodiversity. The Teddington scheme will have to go through development consent where environmental concerns will be considered before it is fully approved.
Swimmers fighting to stop the scheme at Teddington said they were happy that their section of river had been picked out as a location for a cleanup, but that the Thames Water plans appeared to be in conflict with that ambition.
Marlene Lawrence from the Teddington Bluetits group that swims in the river at Teddington, said: “I welcome Sadiq Khan’s plans to make more wild swim spots safe for public use.
“The river upstream of Teddington Lock is used by many wild swimmers, kayakers, rowers and families. I cannot see how Thames Water’s planned abstraction plan can be approved, when it involves them pumping treated effluent full of chemical back into the river to replace river water taken out in times of drought.
“The river would not be safe to swim in, and there could be devastating effects on river life.”
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, who has campaigned against the water recycling project, said: “I’m pleased to hear that Teddington has been identified as a priority area for cleanup because of high pollution levels, but I’m also surprised by the mixed messages.
“Concerns about water quality are exactly why I and local campaigners are fighting Thames Water’s proposals to pump treated effluent into the river at Teddington.
“Yet the environment secretary recently gave the green light to the water resources management plan, which includes these proposals. Which is it? Teddington residents want answers from a minister who has promised to protect our precious river.”
The Twickenham MP has requested an urgent meeting with Reed to challenge the decision.
As secretary of state, Reed has just given first approval to Thames Water’s resource management plans, including a new reservoir in Oxfordshire and the £250m Teddington scheme, which involves abstracting 75m litres a day from the Thames in periods of drought, for drinking water, and replacing it with treated effluent from Mogden sewage treatment works via a new tunnel.
As well as environmental concerns about damage to river systems from the increased water temperatures, there are worries about the effect on river quality from so-called forever chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), contained in the treated effluent. Pollution from raw and treated sewage and agricultural runoff are significant causes of the dire state of rivers in England.
A similar scheme from Thames Water was rejected by the Environment Agency in 2019 because of the anticipated unacceptable impact on the environment of releasing millions of litres of treated effluent into the river.
Khan, asked about the conflict between his ambitions and the approval of the Thames Water abstraction project, said: “We are trying to bring together key players to draft an action plan to clean up the river.
“Together we can say to Thames Water: You have got some good ideas in relation to what you are doing but do you realise the consequences?”
Asked if the plan could go ahead given his ambitions for a clean river at Teddington, Khan said: “That is one of the conversations we will be having with Thames Water.”
Both politicians made the announcement at the Thames tideway tunnel on Victoria Embankment, the site of London’s new “supersewer”, which aims to remove 95% of raw sewage to stop it being discharged into the river.
The 15.5-mile (25km) tunnel will become fully operational in 2025 and will protect the river from sewage pollution with what the mayor’s office said would be transformational environmental benefits.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “With rapid population growth and climate change, pressure on our water system is skyrocketing.
“That is why this government is committed to increase our water supply while protecting the environment and public health. We are going further by introducing legislation to clean up our waterways, attract private-sector investment for upgrades and speed up the building of water infrastructure.”
