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Thames Water

4 articles

The £518 Million Mirage: How Thames Water Turned London's Water Security Into a Financial Extraction Scheme

• via The Guardian

The £518 Million Mirage: How Thames Water Turned London's Water Security Into a Financial Extraction Scheme

Desalination Disaster and the Illusion of Infrastructure

Thames Water's £518 million desalination plant, built to secure London's water supply, has produced a mere seven days' worth of water over 15 years. This exposé reveals how the plant, plagued by operational failures and exorbitant costs, serves more as a financial asset for debt accumulation than a functional piece of infrastructure. As the company seeks another £535 million for a new project, the story highlights the systemic issues in Britain's privatised water industry, where public service is secondary to wealth extraction.

The Sewage State: How England's Water Crisis Exposes Total Institutional Collapse

• via The Guardian

The Sewage State: How England's Water Crisis Exposes Total Institutional Collapse

The UK's water crisis is a textbook case of how privatized monopolies plunder public goods

English water companies dumped raw sewage into rivers and seas at record-breaking levels in 2024, with serious pollution incidents surging 60% in a single year. While politicians promised a crackdown on water pollution, the reality is stark: 75 serious incidents poisoned waterways last year, up from 47 in 2023.

The Anatomy of Extraction: How Thames Water Turned Emergency Aid Into Executive Enrichment

• via The Guardian

The Anatomy of Extraction: How Thames Water Turned Emergency Aid Into Executive Enrichment

Thames Water's executives pocketed £15.7m in bonuses while 16 million customers face hosepipe bans.

While 16 million customers face hosepipe bans this summer, Thames Water's executives have successfully converted a £3bn emergency lifeline into personal windfalls totaling £15.7m. The company that can't maintain water supplies during a shortage somehow found £2.46m to pay 21 managers in April—from funds meant to prevent corporate collapse.

Environment Secretary celebrates "significant progress" while sewage flows and Thames Water collapses

• via The Guardian

Environment Secretary celebrates "significant progress" while sewage flows and Thames Water collapses

Labour's countryside comfort zone can't hide £96 billion in missing infrastructure investment

Steve Reed's appearance at Hertfordshire's Groundswell festival reveals the extraordinary disconnect between Labour's self-congratulation and Britain's accelerating institutional decay. While the Environment Secretary proclaimed "significant progress" from his hay bale podium, the nation's waterways continue to poison swimmers and Thames Water edges toward a collapse that will cost taxpayers billions.