Thames Water’s grim sewage record draws more ire from E-coli-plagued Hammersmith

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

A west London councillor has accused Thames Water of ‘failing to protect our river and residents’ after reports suggested the company discharged 50 per cent more sewage in 2024 than the previous year.

Cllr Sharon Holder, Hammersmith and Fulham council cabinet member for public realm, added residents ‘deserve a clean Thames – rather than increasing bills and a dirty river’.

Thames Water says it is to invest ‘a record amount’ in its infrastructure over the next five years, alongside plans to upgrade more than 250 of its sites across the region to increase capacity and lower the number of storm discharges.

The Guardian newspaper revealed that figures obtained by analyst Peter Hammond suggested the water company was responsible for almost 300,000 hours of sewage entering waterways last year. In 2023, this figure sat at 196,414 hours. The data may however be subject to changes, as it has yet to be verified by the Environment Agency.

Hammersmith and Fulham has previously raised concerns with Thames Water regarding its sewage discharges. Last year, former deputy council leader Ben Coleman, now Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham, and public health director Dr Nicola Lang, wrote to Thames Water ‘to express our horror’ at sewage being released into the Thames.

This followed testing at Fulham Reach which indicated there was up to ten times the amount of E.coli bacteria in Hammersmith than is allowed for bathing water status. University of Oxford rowers were also among those to criticise the sewage levels in the River Thames after last year’s the Boat Race to Cambridge last year.

Since then, the Thames Tideway Tunnel, known as the super sewer, has been fully connected and will come into operation later this year. Funded by Thames Water customers, it is expected to stop 95 per cent of the sewage spills into the river.

Thames Water also this month announced plans to invest £1.8 billion tackling 26 sewage overflows on the Rivers Roding, Wandle, Lee and Brent. The company’s overflow map shows that so far in 2025, most of its sites along the patch of the Thames by Hammersmith and Fulham have not discharged sewage. The West Putney Storm Relief sewer overflow, just across the river, is however recorded as discharging for 31 hours and 45 minutes in early January.

Cllr Holder said: “The continued dumping of raw sewage by Thames Water is yet further evidence they’re failing to protect our river and residents. The annual Boat Race reminds us of their broken promises as they continue to discharge sewage even when there’s no rainfall. In Fulham, dangerous E.coli levels now threaten public health. Our residents deserve a clean Thames – rather than increasing bills and a dirty river.”

A spokesman for Thames Water said: “In 2024, we experienced one of the wettest years on record. Storm discharges are closely correlated with rainfall and groundwater conditions, and we therefore experienced an increase in the frequency and duration of storm discharge events.

“We know how much people enjoy and appreciate rivers, which is why over the next five years we will deliver a record amount of investment to address our ageing infrastructure. This is an enormous undertaking.”

Thames Water recently won approval from the court of appeal for a £3 billion bailout as it struggles with debts of around £19bn. It is also appealing to the Competition and Markets Authority to raise customer bills by 59 per cent over the next five years, after the regulator Ofwat capped the increase at 35 per cent.

Pictured top: The Thames at Hammersmith (Picture: Google Street View)