Rogue operator Thames Water is once again under fire – this time, for causing chaos in South London where it left around 10,000 residents without water. However, to make matters worse it closed the only ‘water bank’ it had set up. This was supplying residents with bottled water. As of 3pm on 13 February, some residents had been without water for over two days. Even the local Labour Party MP has slammed Thames Water’s response as ‘deeply concerning’.
All this comes as celebrities and politicians have joined the growing calls for action against Thames Water. Notably, the calls are for the Labour Party to finally renationalise it.
Thames Water: another stinking mess
As BBC News reported on 12 February:
Thousands of homes and businesses in south London have been left without water or have reduced supply after a pipe burst in the Crystal Palace area.
Thames Water has apologised to customers and said engineers had located the source of the leak and were “working to restore water to customers and fix the pipe as soon as possible”.
A spokesperson added: “Bottled water will be delivered to customers on our priority services register.”
They confirmed this included 11 care homes and 29 schools within the area which had low pressure or no water.
However, residents posting in local Facebook groups confirmed that the outage actually started on 11 February. People claim that Thames Water caused the chaos due to two problems: a burst pipe and a leak at a ‘problem’ at a pumping station. True to form, Thames Water has compounded the chaos with its dire response to what it should have treated as an emergency.
Utterly useless – and intentionally so
Local Labour MP Liam Conlon wrote to Thames Water over the issue. He noted that as of 13 February the company still had not given residents a timescale as to when it would fix the problems. Conlon also said that:
Additionally, whilst you have said that schools would be supported to manage the outage with plans for bottled water deliveries and refilling tanks, I’ve been informed that several schools in our constituency, such as James Dixon Primary School in SE20, were forced to send children home yesterday and close today. This is quite simply not acceptable, and I would appreciate urgent clarity on steps being taken to address this.
But crucially, he noted that:
I am also concerned that the single bottled water station opened yesterday afternoon at Sainsbury’s (Southend Lane) miles away from many of my affected constituents in Crystal Palace and Anerley, was forced to close early yesterday due to supply and security issues. Given the thousands of households affected by this outage, a single bottled water station in just one postcode area seems clearly insufficient.
Thames Water said it closed the water bank due to “security incidents”. As local independent media outlet News From Crystal Palace reported, “police attended Sainsbury’s in Bell Green, Lower Sydenham yesterday after reports on social media of a fight over water bottles”.
Of course, Thames Water has jumped to blame its customers for fighting over water. In reality, this would be its fault for a) only installing one water bank for 10,000 people, and b) restricting who has access to it:
As News From Crystal Palace noted:
Some people complained on social media they were not allowed to take water bottles away unless they had been without water 18 or 20 hours.. a prominent disabled Crystal Palace resident posted: “I’m now on 13 hours of waiting and the only response is to wait until tomorrow.”
In a second post they added: “I am medically vulnerable and have had no response from Thames Water. “My proximity to a crisis has come much closer.”
Don’t mess with South London
Over on social media, people in the area were rightly furious with toxic Thames Water (not least because of huge bill rises everyone just got through the post):
A water station so far away is impossible to get to for those who don't drive or have the means to get there! What about the elderly and disabled? Absolutely ridiculous to have us with no water for over 12 hours!!
— Maria🦋 (@prinxessmaria) February 12, 2025
Rolly pointed out that the company’s compensation scheme already owed them money from a previous problem:
Hello @thameswater. We’ve now been without water for more than 24 hours, so presumably it’ll be £60 off our next bill? Still waiting for credit for the last three day disruption in December. @elliereeves pic.twitter.com/9y8oPeuO4n
— Rolly Rollinson (@RollyRollinson) February 13, 2025
A cursory browse of X reveals that it’s not just SE postcodes where Thames Water is failing:
Still huge water leak on #Knollysroad SW16. Holes appearing in the rd. When will this be fixed @thameswater @lambeth_council ? +5 days now. Also, how, as consumers do we know how TW will perform against their ‘promises’ to reform the network? pic.twitter.com/JvGXRd6GvX
— Vanessa Welham (@VanessaWelham1) February 12, 2025
So, what is the answer to resolving this pathetic excuse for a company that has a monopoly on something that is a human right?
Well, actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry seems to know:
🚨Breaking🚨
Sir Stephen Fry calls on Keir Starmer to bring ‘effectively bankrupt’ Thames Water into public ownership. 💧
So that ‘it works for all of us, people and planet.’ 🌎
Agree? Sign our petition. Link in comments 👇🏽#SirStephenFry #ThamesWater #PublicOwnership pic.twitter.com/e0NkjWjOoN
— We Own It (@We_OwnIt) February 13, 2025
Green Party peer Jenny Jones has also been going into one over Thames Water:
The government gave ok for Thames Water to raise another £3bn debt at 9.75% interest, just to stay in business. Customers pay for it with higher bills.@GreenJennyJones speaks in support of the campaigners who went to court to stop the bail out and to put water in public hands. pic.twitter.com/zEZPglCWjM
— GreenJJNews (@GreenJJNews) February 11, 2025
The government taking control of the failed water company would seem like a logical step – given the chaos that it is in.
Thames Water: a busted flush
Firstly, recent data reveals that over half of its 351 sewage treatment plants lack the capacity to adequately process incoming wastewater, leading to the discharge of untreated effluent into rivers. Specifically, 181 plants are failing to meet required treatment volumes, with some operating at only a third of their necessary capacity.
Then, Thames Water’s management has come under criticism for its handling of environmental and financial issues. The company has been fined £18 million by Ofwat for breaching dividend rules, having paid out dividends totaling £195.5 million during periods of underperformance. That is, while we were suffering from leaks and rocketing bills, Thames Water was giving its shareholders money AND paying bosses bonuses.
However, most significantly the company is grappling with a substantial debt burden, currently standing at £18 billion. The company is awaiting a High Court decision regarding a £1.5 billion interim refinancing plan, which is crucial to maintaining operations. If the court rejects this plan, Thames Water risks entering special administration, effectively leading to temporary renationalisation.
It is this which politicians and celebrities are calling on the government to enact. So, as Jude said on X:
33 hours with no running water in most of SE19, SE20, SE23, SE26, SE27 and SW16. No running water in care homes, sparsely in schools, in some medical institutions. I’m no longer personally angry, this is bigger than my own annoyance, but nationalisation soon @thameswater
— Joyboy Jude (@judeblay) February 13, 2025
As of 3pm on 13 February, Thames Water had finally begun delivering water directly to affected areas – over 54 hours after people started reporting problems.
So, for people living under Thames Water’s profiteering racket, nationalisation cannot come soon enough. However, this is the Labour Party we are talking about. So, whether or not it will take the rogue operator into public hands remains to be seen.
Featured image supplied
