Thames Water has today (Thursday, 5 June) announced its plans to launch a ten-week statutory public consultation on its Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project on Tuesday, 17 June.

Thames Water said: "The vital drought resilience project would enable the company to abstract additional water from the River Thames, supported by water recycling.

"The project has been deemed as of national significance by the Government and would safeguard the drinking water supply for London's residents, businesses, schools, hospitals and other essential services during periods of drought."

Thames Water says its Teddington Direct River Abstraction project will 'safeguard the drinking water supply for London's residents, businesses, schools, hospitals and other essential services during periods of drought' (Credit: Thames Water)

The company predicts it will need an extra 1 billion litres of water every day by 2050 to meet customer demand, expected population growth and climate change. 

Water abstracted from the River Thames, upstream of Teddington Weir, would be transferred along a new connecting pipeline to the existing Thames Lee Tunnel. It would then join the Lee Valley reservoirs in East London, ready to become drinking water. 

To replenish the river, highly treated recycled water will go through an additional cleaning stage known as 'tertiary treatment'.

This water would then be transferred from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works and released into the River Thames at a new discharge location upstream of Teddington Weir. This would compensate for water taken, helping to protect the environment and local wildlife. 

Leonie Dubois, Thames Water's Head of Engagement, Land and Consents said: "Our public consultation will put communities at the forefront of our plans as we progress this nationally significant infrastructure project, which will secure water supply for millions.  

"Once the consultation is live, we want to gather as much feedback as possible and would encourage our customers to join our events throughout the summer, talk to the team to find out what the project means for them, and make sure they have their say."  

Thames Water has already acted on community feedback on the project. Last year, it revealed a series of project design changes following feedback gathered during its non-statutory consultation in Autumn 2023.   

Changes to the project included reducing the number of construction compounds and number of shafts from eight to four.

This was made possible by opting for tunnel boring, rather than pipejacking to build the tunnel which would transport recycled water. 

Thames Water said: "This will have a positive impact on the project's visual impacts and reduces the number of expected traffic movements." 

On Tuesday 17 June, consultation materials, the latest project design, and ways to provide your feedback will be made available on a dedicated webpage. 

The feedback received during the consultation period will help inform Thames Water's Development Consent Order submission for the project in 2026.  

The public consultation will run until 11.59pm on Tuesday, 26 August 2025 and will ask for feedback on a series of matters including the project's proposed approach to construction and maintenance, as well as the lasting benefits that it will deliver for the surrounding community. 

A Statement of Community Consultation, which is a statutory requirement for the purposes of the Development Consent Order, has been prepared and sets out Thames Water's approach to consultation. The document has been published on the project's webpage here.

A series of events will take place during the consultation period, providing an opportunity to view project plans and ask questions of the project team. 

The dates, times, and locations are shown in the image below.

Thames Water will be hosting several consultations at various venues across South West London this summer.

You can register your interest in these in-person events by visiting Thames Water's dedicated website.  

Two online events will also take place, which will include a presentation from the project team summarising the proposals, the consultation process, and how to respond. You can also register for these events here. 

These will take place on Tuesday, 8 July from 12pm – 1pm and Wednesday, 16 July from 7pm – 8pm.