I wrote to Thames Water to call on Thames Water to take swift action to clean up the River Roding. Thames Water have long been embroiled in scandal after scandal of illegal dumping of raw sewage on our waterways in London.
In 2021, more than two billion litres of raw sewage were dumped in the River Thames over two days. The River Roding in Barking & Dagenham is London’s third largest river, and our sewerage is managed by Thames Water.
Recent evidence shows sections of the River Roding nearly 26 times over safe water quality levels. It is apparent that Thames Water have used the Roding River as a short cut for sewage treatment, recklessly dumping raw sewage into the river. You can smell the foul air left by their polluting when you pass the river. Barking & Dagenham should not be used as a dumping ground for sewage.
For nearly 200 years the annual Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race has gone ahead in the River Thames, however in 2024, testing showed high levels of E-Coli in the river. Rowers rightly expressed concerns about their health and wellbeing in taking part in the competition due to the dangerously polluted state of the water. From 2022 to 2023 Environment Agency figures revealed raw sewage spills doubled from 1.75 million hours to 3.6 million hours of spills – this is disgusting and a serious risk to public health.
Not only can Thames Water not be trusted to keep our water clean, but they have also failed to financially manage the company well. That’s why the government recently rejected the £10 million rescue plan for Thames Water that would have put the cost of their failings on to working people. It is becoming increasingly clear that the government taking the decision to nationalise the company is the best thing to do.
I will continue to call out the failure of Thames Water in polluting the River Roding and support calls on the government to take action against the company.
Everyone deserves to have access to clean water and make use of our waterways without fear of unsafe levels of pollution.
