52-482: Thames Water Utilities Ltd , trading as Thames Water , is a British private utility company responsible for the water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London , Luton , the Thames Valley , Surrey , Gloucestershire , north Wiltshire , far west Kent , and some other parts of England . Like other water companies, it has a monopoly in the regions it serves. With origins dating back to
104-551: A "full writedown" of its 31.7% stake in Kemble, signalling its view that the shares were now worthless; another (unnamed) lender sought to offload loans worth up to £600m. In June 2024, UK university pension fund USS (holding 20% of the company's shares) was pressed by university staff members to explain why it had invested in Thames Water; it was feared the fund might have to write-off £1 billion of its assets. In May 2024, Ofwat
156-529: A consortium led by the Australian Macquarie Group which appointed David Owens as CEO. In December 2006, the sale of Thames Water's British operation went ahead, with RWE keeping the overseas operations. Under the new ownership, the company re-focused its efforts on improving its operational performance and in 2007 announced the largest-ever capital investment programme (£1 billion in one year) of any UK water company. However, during
208-414: A five-year period, rejecting the £19/year cap proposed by Ofwat. The Guardian also reported that Thames Water board members and advisers lobbied Whitehall officials to oppose any temporary renationalisation saying it would adversely affect the appeal of UK businesses to international investors - a view rejected by others who saw Thames as an 'outlier'. In October 2024, Thames Water proposed a deal to raise
260-497: A knife-edge", amid concerns over safety, essential IT systems (some dating from the 1980s, now obsolete and prone to cybercrime), and intimidation of staff. As of 2022, Thames Water extracts , treats and supplies 2.5 billion litres (550 million imperial gallons) of drinking water per day using 97 water treatment works, 308 clean water pumping stations and 31,100 km (19,300 mi) of managed water mains to 10.2 million customers (4 million properties) across London and
312-474: A loan of up to £3bn that would enable it survive until October 2025, while increasing the company's debt to £17.9bn by March 2025. In November 2024, Thames Water said three quarters of its creditors had supported the £3 billion funding deal. In November 2024, a Guardian investigation revealed Thames Water was in a worse financial state than previously admitted. The company had £23bn of assets in urgent need of repair, with supply to 16 million water customers "on
364-557: A population of 15.5 million people—over a quarter of England's population—but its ageing infrastructure is prone to leakage and is a frequent cause of pollution, for which it has been repeatedly prosecuted and fined. Current shareholders include four major pension funds and four overseas investment funds which between them hold over 90% of the company's shares. The company has been criticised for paying substantial dividends to shareholders while simultaneously taking out loans, accumulating £14 billion in debts. In June 2023, Thames Water
416-534: A slow sand filter. The prosecution followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive . Thames Water was repeatedly criticised for the amount of water that leaked from its pipes by the industry regulator Ofwat and was fined for this. In May 2006 the leakage was nearly 900 million litres (200 million imperial gallons) per day and in June that year Thames Water missed its target for leakage reduction for
468-518: A target of net zero by 2030. In December 2014 Thames Water pleaded guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after the death at work of one of its workers. It was fined £300,000 with £61,000 prosecution costs. The incident occurred at its Coppermills Water Treatment Works in Walthamstow, London E17 in April 2010 when an excavator reversed over and killed the worker in
520-591: Is one of Europe's largest wastewater treatment works. On 1 October 2011, it adopted 40,000 km (25,000 mi) - an additional 60% - of private sewers and lateral drains to add to its then stock of 68,000 km (42,000 mi) giving a new network of 108,000 km (67,000 mi). By 2015, this figure had grown to 109,400 km (68,000 mi) of managed sewerage mains. As of 2022, Thames Water generated 510 GWh per year, or 24% of its total heat and electricity requirements, using renewable energy from biogas, sewage sludge, wind, and solar. The company has
572-671: Is responsible for an extensive water management infrastructure which includes the Thames Water Ring Main around London, one of Europe's largest wastewater treatment works and the UK's first large-scale desalination plant —both at Beckton in east London—and the £4.2 billion Thames Tideway sewer (set to enter service in 2025). Per day, the company supplies 2.5 billion litres (550 million imperial gallons) of drinking water and treats 4.6 billion litres (1,000 million imperial gallons) of wastewater. It serves
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#1732791739825624-505: The Financial Times reported Thames Water faced the possibility of over £10 billion of its debt being downgraded to junk status. This potential downgrade by rating agency S&P could trigger regulatory intervention from Ofwat, as Thames Water is required to maintain two investment-grade ratings to comply with its license. In August 2024, Thames Water warned its continued survival required it to increase water bills by 59% over
676-766: The Kuwait Investment Authority . On 22 March 2017 a record fine of £20.3m was imposed on Thames Water after large leaks of untreated sewage, totalling 1.4bn litres, occurred over a number of years. As of July 2023, the company listed its shareholders as: OMERS (32%), the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS - 20%), Infinity Investments (a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ) (10%), British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (9%), Hermes Investment Management (manager of
728-408: The 11 years of Macquarie's ownership ending in 2017, there were substantial dividend payouts to shareholders. In this period debts increased from £4.4 billion to £10.5 billion (both 2017 prices) as Macquarie borrowed against the company's assets to increase dividend payments. During these 11 years £2.8 billion was paid to shareholders; 40% of the total £7 billion in dividends paid by Thames Water in
780-570: The 32 years from 1990 to 2022. Thames Water was a Tier Three sponsor of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. From 2017, under the government's Open Water programme, and in common with all water and sewerage companies, Thames Water was required to provide entirely separate retail and wholesale operations for its commercial customers, working through a central market operator. On 14 March 2017, Macquarie Group sold its remaining stake in Thames Water's holding company to Canadian pensions group OMERS and
832-554: The BT Pension Scheme) (9%), the China Investment Corporation (9%), Queensland Investment Corporation (5%), Aquila GP Inc. (5%), and Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (2%). Shareholders have not taken a dividend since 2017, though the company has paid internal dividends from the operational business to holding companies to be able to service its debt obligations. In its annual report for
884-800: The Faringdon Stream, in Faringdon , Oxfordshire . The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,488 Water privatisation in England and Wales Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 978784273 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:02:19 GMT National Rivers Authority The National Rivers Authority ( NRA )
936-485: The NRA for water removed from surface and ground waters but the NRA then had to pay to have such waters released into rivers. In circumstances where reservoirs had been built to control river flow and thus independently support drinking water abstractions, this could entail the NRA paying out more to have the water released than it had charged for its abstraction. It also meant that some releases of water from reservoirs, which in
988-600: The New River Company and eight other water companies serving London were taken into public ownership under the control of the newly-founded Metropolitan Water Board . In 1973 the responsibility for water supply and sewage in the Thames catchment was transferred to the Thames Water Authority . In 1989, the responsibility for navigation, regulatory, river and channels management was transferred from
1040-533: The River Thames. The company also admitted other water pollution and offences in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire . In awarding the fine, Judge Francis Sheridan noted the company's "continual failure to report incidents" and "history of non-compliance", saying: "This is a shocking and disgraceful state of affairs. It should not be cheaper to offend than to take appropriate precautions. I have to make
1092-880: The Thames Valley. It maintains 22 raw water reservoirs and 241 underground service reservoirs. The company supplied 111.4 million litres (24.5 million imperial gallons) of treated water per day to other water suppliers in the region. In 2007 it proposed a reservoir at Abingdon, Oxfordshire , which would have been the largest enclosed or bunded reservoir in the UK. Thames Water also removes, treats and disposes of 4.6 billion litres (1,000 million imperial gallons) of wastewater per day from 15.5 million customers (6 million properties) using 5,123 sewage pumping stations through 109,292 km (67,911 mi) of managed sewerage mains to 353 sewage treatment works across an area of 13,000 km (5,000 sq mi) of South England . Its Beckton Sewage Treatment Works
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#17327917398251144-753: The Thames Water Authority to the National Rivers Authority , which later became part of the Environment Agency . The remainder of the Thames Water Authority was privatised as Thames Water Utilities Limited. Thames Water plc was acquired by the German utility company RWE in 2001. On 17 October 2006, following several years of criticism about failed leakage targets in the UK, RWE announced it would sell Thames Water for £8 billion to Kemble Water Holdings Ltd,
1196-466: The company stated that it had reduced its daily loss through leaks by 120 million litres (26 million imperial gallons) to an average of 695 million litres (153 million imperial gallons) per day. For 2009–10 the Ofwat -reported daily leakage was 668.9 million litres (147.1 million imperial gallons). In its price control determination for the period 2010 to 2015, Ofwat did not allow
1248-470: The company was then reported to be in urgent talks to secure extra funding to avoid the company collapsing. In 2022, shareholders had provided an initial £500m to Thames Water and pledged a further £1bn, but the company was said to be struggling to service its substantial debt pile. On 29 June 2023, with the UK government reportedly on standby for a potential taxpayer bailout through a temporary nationalisation, with pension funds worried about their investments in
1300-512: The costs of any bailout. On 10 July 2023, Thames Water shareholders agreed to provide £750m in funding, short of the £1bn sought; the company also said it would need a further £2.5bn from investors by 2030. In September 2023, Thames Water was one of several water companies ordered by Ofwat to pay back customers for poor performance. It was ordered to apply reductions totalling £101m to customers' future bills. In October 2023, Thames Water, along with Southern Water , SES Water and South East Water ,
1352-736: The earlier failures to meet targets. As a result, and in spite of a larger distribution network, Thames Water was leaking slightly less water than at privatisation in 1989, having reduced leakage from its 31,100 km (19,300 mi) network of water pipes by more than a third since its 2004 peak. As of 2013 and with an older network profile, Thames Water leaked 25.8% of supply, slightly less than Severn Trent at 27%. As of 2015 Thames Water leaked 25.1% of supply. In June 2018 regulators made Thames Water pay £65 million to customers, among other reasons because they failed to repair leaks. In June 2023, Freedom of Information requests revealed that Thames Water leak levels were at their highest for five years. It
1404-415: The fine sufficiently large that [Thames Water] get the message", adding that, "One has to get the message across to the shareholders that the environment is to be treasured and protected, and not poisoned.". What was "shocking and disgraceful" was not just the scale of the pollution, but that it was intentional. Sheridan added "the constant use of flow clipping to protect the treatment process, so that, despite
1456-401: The firm, and with suppliers engaged on major projects concerned about payment, Thames Water announced experienced City troubleshooter Sir Adrian Montague would lead rescue efforts, succeeding Ian Marchant as chairman on 10 July 2023. On 2 July 2023, shareholder USS announced its support for the business's turnaround plans. The head of Ofwat said Thames Water customers would not be liable for
1508-531: The formation of the New River Company in 1609, Thames Water was established in 1989 during privatisation of the water industry in England and Wales . The name of the company reflects its role serving the drainage basin of the River Thames ; water is sourced from the Thames as well as a number of other rivers and boreholes . The UK's largest water and wastewater services company, Thames Water
1560-764: The funds needed to finance a significant further reduction in leakage and used the assumption that daily leakage would be 674 million litres (148 million imperial gallons) in 2010–11 and 673 million litres (148 million imperial gallons) from 2011 to 2012. In 2011–12, actual daily leakage was 637 × 10 ^ L (140 × 10 ^ imp gal); in 2012–13, 646 × 10 ^ L (142 × 10 ^ imp gal); in 2013–14, 644 × 10 ^ L (142 × 10 ^ imp gal); in 2014–2015, 654 × 10 ^ L (144 × 10 ^ imp gal); in 2015–2016, 642 × 10 ^ L (141 × 10 ^ imp gal). The company achieved these reductions by: These successes in meeting leakage targets mitigated
1612-492: The issue of various bonds, with annual interest obligations of the debt standing at around £500m, around 50% of EBITDA. So, after capital investments, the business was not generating sufficient cash to fulfil its interest obligations, and found itself in a continuously worsening financial position. With current debt amounting to 80% of the value of the business, Thames Water had become the most heavily indebted of England and Wales' water companies. This situation had been recognised by
Thames Water - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-405: The leadership of Hugh Myddelton . Although earlier small-scale water supply operations existed, the New River Company was the first water supply company and is the earliest direct ancestor of Thames Water today. During the 1850s, John Snow and William Farr 's identification of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak provided a stimulus for the better treatment of sewage. The Thames Conservancy
1716-466: The management of aquatic ecology and some aspects of recreation . With the passing of the Water Act 1989 , the ten water authorities in England and Wales were privatised by flotation on the stock market . They took the water supply, sewerage and sewage disposal activities into the privatised companies. The remaining duties remained with the newly created National Rivers Authority. The assets and
1768-479: The next five years. Responding to the request, Michael Gove , the UK's housing and communities secretary, stated that "Thames Water leadership has been a 'disgrace'" and customers should not be expected to pay higher bills. In April 2024, The Guardian reported Whitehall consideration of plans to renationalise Thames Water, with the state taking on most of its £15.6bn debt and lenders losing up to 40% of their money. In May 2024, Thames' biggest shareholder OMERS issued
1820-619: The number of properties at high risk of sewage flooding between 2005 and 2010. It agreed to a compensation package for customers of £86 million. In 2022, a report published by the parliamentary Environmental Audit Select Committee on water quality in the UK's rivers showed that Thames Water's Mogden wastewater treatment works in Isleworth discharged a quantity of sewage which would fill 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools on 3 and 4 October 2020. In July 2024, Thames Water reported 350 incidents of sewage pollution in 2023, up from 331 in 2022. It said
1872-424: The past had been made principally for ecological or recreational interests, were now made with economic interests as the principal driver. The logo of the NRA was a stylised image of a salmon in a circle of water, sometimes frivolously referred to by the staff of the NRA as the washing machine . The chair of the NRA throughout its existence was Lord Crickhowell . In 1996, the NRA ceased to exist when it
1924-467: The position on 8 January 2024 and was to be paid an annual salary of £850,000 and a performance-related bonus of up to 156 per cent, taking his total package to about £2.25 million. As of March 2024, investors announced they would withhold the first payment of a £4bn turnaround plan unless Ofwat agreed to an increase in customer bills, saying that without it the plan is "uninvestible". Thames Water stated that an increase in bills of 40% would be required over
1976-411: The regular and prolonged discharge of untreated sewage to the River Thames via the storm outfalls, all samples taken at the final effluent outfall complied with the permit. This was deliberately done and gave a false impression of the sewage treatment works' performance and undermined the operator's self-monitoring process." Conversely, in 2014, Thames Water admitted that it had accidentally over-reported
2028-458: The regulator Ofwat in December 2022 - leading to increasingly urgent discussions concerning a possible collapse and potential state bail-out of Thames Water. After joining Thames Water as CEO in 2020, Sarah Bentley resigned on 27 June 2023 amid concerns over spills from Thames sewage pipes. On 28 June 2023, concerns were raised about the company's ability to service its debt of £14 billion, and
2080-479: The rise was due to delayed investments to increase capacity across its 400 sewage treatment works. Thames Water had failed to complete a £1.1 billion programme involving around 108 scheduled upgrades promised in 2018 to enable sewage treatment works to meet legal pollution limits. An anti-sewage pollution campaign group accused Thames of a "deliberate act to keep it financially afloat" and called for an investigation by regulators. Thames Water blamed its failure to deliver
2132-594: The schemes on macroeconomic events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and rises in inflation, plus supply chain problems and competing pressures to create more storm tank capacity. In August 2024, Thames Water was fined £104m by Ofwat for failing to manage its wastewater treatment works and networks. In September 2007, 5 km (3.1 mi) of the River Wandle , Greater London was polluted. In January 2009, Thames Water pleaded guilty at Sutton Magistrates Court, and
Thames Water - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-492: The staff of the RWAs were divided up at privatisation between the new water companies and the NRA. However, all the assets relating to water supply reservoirs were transferred to the newly created private water companies, even in those cases where there were strong recreational and fisheries interests in the reservoirs. Complex charging arrangements were also put in place whereby the newly created companies paid abstraction charges to
2236-442: The third year in a row. The Consumer Council for Water , a customers' group, accused Thames Water of continuing to miss its targets for the preceding five years. In July 2006, instead of a fine which would have gone "to the exchequer ", the company was required to spend an extra £150 million on repairs. Thames Water hit its Ofwat-agreed annual leakage-reduction target for each of the ten years running from 2006 to 2016. In 2006–07,
2288-467: The year ending 31 March 2022, Thames Water had reported annual revenues of around £2bn, generating a profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation ( EBITDA ) of around £1bn (a margin of around 50%). Facing high levels of asset depreciation - around £650m - the company has to invest all profits back into the business to maintain the status quo. As of March 2022, Thames Water had, since 2007, accumulated debts of around £15 billion, mainly through
2340-476: Was established in 1857 with unified control over water supply, drainage and navigation. The Great Stink occurred in 1858, and focused government and public opinion on cleaning up the Thames. To resolve these issues, the Metropolitan Board of Works , under the leadership of Chief Engineer Joseph Bazalgette , constructed a large network of sewers by 1870, many of which are still in use today. In 1904
2392-446: Was estimated to be losing 630 million litres (140 million imperial gallons) a day. In the period 2005–13 Thames Water was the most heavily fined water company in the UK for pollution incidents, paying £842,500 for 87 events. In 2016, it paid the largest fine for a single pollution incident of £1 million. In March 2017, Thames Water was fined a record £20.3 million after it pumped nearly 1.5 billion litres of untreated sewage into
2444-485: Was named by Ofwat as one of the four worst performing water companies, all needing to dramatically improve their financial performance. In December 2023, Thames Water told MPs that it did not have enough money to pay off a £190m loan due in April 2024, despite a recent £500m cash injection financed by a loan to its parent company. Also in December 2023, the company appointed Chris Weston as its new chief executive, replacing Bentley who resigned in June 2023. Weston took up
2496-506: Was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales , existing between 1989 and 1996. Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten regional water authorities (RWAs). The RWAs were responsible for the supply and distribution of drinking water, sewerage and sewage disposal , land drainage and flood risk management , fisheries , water quality management, pollution prevention, water resource management and many aspects of
2548-630: Was reported to be close to financial collapse. In April 2024, the UK Government was reported to be considering plans to renationalise the company. Thames Water can trace its history back to the construction of the New River , which was started in 1604 by Edmund Colthurst to carry fresh water from Hertfordshire into London. The business of the New River was taken over by the New River Company , officially founded by royal charter in 1619, under
2600-525: Was reported to be preparing to reject Thames Water's request for consumer bill rises of 59% (after accounting for inflation), with the company's plans derided as a "microwave job" with "fag-packet figures", while Thames' board was said to be determined to "sit on a deckchair on the Titanic". Advised by investment bankers Lazard , Ofwat was trying to make Thames Water attractive to investors, while minimising pressure on consumer bills. On 1 June 2024, Thames Water
2652-574: Was set to be fined over £40m by Ofwat for payment of a shareholder dividend in late 2023. On 11 July 2024, Ofwat put Thames Water into special measures , with a "turnaround oversight regime" subject to "heightened regulatory" scrutiny. Ofwat said Thames Water would be allowed to increase bills by £99 to £535, which was £92 less than the company had proposed. Through to 2029, Thames Water is required to reduce sewage spills by 64%, cut leaks by 19% and reduce supply interruptions by two-thirds. Also in July 2024,
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#17327917398252704-473: Was subsequently fined £125,000 at Croydon Crown Court and ordered to pay £21,335 in clean-up and investigation costs. In February 2010, on appeal, the fine was found to be "manifestly excessive" and was reduced to £50,000. Between 5 and 8 June 2011, more than 230,000 cubic metres (8.1 million cubic feet), or 230,000 tonnes, of sewage were released from Mogden Sewage Treatment works , killing 26,000 fish. Between 14 and 16 August 2011, Thames Water polluted
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