Meg's Hackney Gazette Column: Tide turns for Thames Water

Hackney is fast losing confidence in Thames Water. Whether it’s the raw sewage dumping in the River Lea, crumbling infrastructure after decades of under-investment, or eye-popping bill increases – Hackney has had enough.  

But under this Labour Government, change is on the way.  

At the heart of this change is the final report from Sir Jon Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission. His verdict was damning: the system is too complex, too weak, and simply not working. £85 billion extracted by shareholders and affiliated parties since privatisation whilst “storm overflows proliferated, leakage targets were missed, and river health declined.” And then there are the four different regulators with overlapping responsibilities leaving no one truly in charge. The result: rising bills, polluted rivers, and water companies marking their own homework. 

In response, the Government’s announced the biggest reform of the water industry in a generation. First – the failed regulator Ofwat is being abolished. The water function responsibilities held under four different regulators will be consolidated under a single powerful super-regulator responsible for the entire water sector. And it will be given the teeth it needs to enforce the high standards Hackney expects. A new water ombudsman will be created with tough legal powers to protect customers and speak for them in disputes over bills.  

There’s good news for Hackney households feeling the pinch. A new national social tariff will bring fair and consistent support to low-income households struggling to pay their water bills. And in the meantime, check if you are eligible for Thames Water’s existing social tariff by searching for WaterHelp or calling 0800 980 8800 to discuss your options.  

The era of water companies marking their own homework is also over – self-monitoring by water companies will instead be replaced by publicly available real-time monitoring with all data published online. And to replace the creaking infrastructure, the Government has leveraged £104 billion of private-sector funding from the water industry. It is the single biggest investment in the history of the water sector and means the Government can make a commitment to halve water companies’ sewage pollution by the end of the decade. 

After years of water companies, like Thames Water, putting senior management bonuses before desperately needed investment, and a failed regulator looking the other way – the tide is now turning.