Thames Water plans to pump £1.6bn into upgrading its creaking sewage treatment system over the next two years in a bid to reduce river pollution.
The company, which serves 15m customers, was named and shamed as one of the worst among Britain’s 12 major suppliers, with two stars out of four in its Environment Agency performance rating.
Campaigners say water companies are treating rivers as an extension of their sewage network and paying out billions in dividends instead of investing in upgrading Victorian-era infrastructure.
Under fire: Thames Water boss Sarah Bentley
Thames was fined £4m last year after it released a ‘waterfall’ of 500,000 litres of raw sewage that killed 3,000 fish in Oxford.
In one area of Berkshire, it has been pumping raw sewage into a waterway for more than a month.
‘The discharge of untreated sewage is unacceptable,’ said Thames Water boss Sarah Bentley.
‘We are investing record sums in upgrading our sewer systems and treatment works and are striving every day to reduce the discharge of untreated sewage into our rivers.’
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