Local campaign group Save Our Lands and River (SOLAR) has created a petition against Thames Water's abstraction plant at Teddington Weir and its releasing of sewage into the River Thames.

In 2024, Thames Water dumped raw sewage into the Thames for over 8,500 hours - a 35 per cent increase from 2023.

Now the water company has created the Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project.

According to SOLAR, "This water would be transferred via an existing underground tunnel to the Lee Valley reservoirs in North London and replaced with treated effluent from the Mogden sewage works, which would be transported some 15km through a new pipeline to Teddington".

SOLAR's concerns about the project include:

• Fears for the impact on river life, fish, insects and plants, because it may impact the biodiversity of the river including changes in the water temperature, oxygen levels and its chemical make-up.
• A 3.5-year construction having a devastating effect on a much-loved part of the river, its bank and the surrounding areas in Ham, Teddington and Richmond, including:

-         Creation of a construction compound and access roads likely to occupy most of the field at Burnell Avenue in Ham and a large part of the North Kingston and Ham Lands Designated Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation and public amenity areas.

-         Construction of a structure along the riverbank equal to 4 cars in length, over 5m in height and extending up to 5 metres into the river.

-         The long-term destruction or dislocation of large areas of Ham Lands, which are home to a wide diversity of plants and animals, including numerous rare species that are hard to find in London.

-         Thames Water claim this proposal will be safe as they are regulated. SOLAR is worried that although fines may be imposed for breach, this is not enough to protect our river. 

-         Thames Water has repeatedly put profits and shareholders ahead of customers and environment; they were fined £51 Million last October for "missed targets" according to Ofwat. 

You can sign SOLAR's petition here.

It already has 31,844 signatures.

In response to SOLAR's petition, a Thames Water spokesperson said: "Our proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction project will secure water supply for millions of Londoners, providing up to 75 million litres of water each day during period of drought.

 "The project is no different to the normal water supply system and will work by putting treated recycled water from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works, through an additional stage of treatment, enabling us to replenish the Thames with clean, recycled water. This is a nationally significant infrastructure project that will help us to protect water supply during prolonged dry weather, while protecting the river's water quality and local environment. 

 "Local communities have our absolute assurance that no untreated sewage will be transferred into the River Thames through our abstraction project proposals.

"We updated our designs in response to community and customer feedback and the project has 4 proposed shafts,"