SOLAR is intensifying its fight against Thames Water’s proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) scheme by writing to the newly appointed Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The Rt Hon Emma Reynolds MP to recognise the “environmentally unsound, socially damaging, and counter to the principles of sustainable water management”. Read our letter here.
In the letter we presented four critical objections to the Minister. First, the project poses serious risks to water quality and public health. Discharging effluent raises the likelihood of increasing harmful contaminants like pharmaceuticals, PFAS, microplastics, and faecal bacteria in a stretch of the river widely used by rowers, swimmers, and anglers. Second, the scheme is terrible value for money, costing billion yet only designed to operate for an average of six weeks a year. Third, the construction phase threatens to inflict long-lasting environmental damage and disrupt community life by impacting vital green spaces like Ham Lands and Burnell Open Space. Finally, Thames Water’s poor record on pollution and leakage means the controversial project risks further eroding public confidence, raising a significant question of trust.
Instead of the TDRA, SOLAR urged the Minister to support more sustainable alternatives. These include dramatically reducing leakage, currently wasting hundreds of millions of litres of water daily, alongside accelerating the roll-out of smart meters and strengthening demand-management measures.
Please provide the full context of the original article and the information about the Cunliffe Report that you would like me to integrate. I can only use the information from the files already provided or the new facts you explicitly give me. The previous response ended with a paragraph about the Ministerial reply1111.
However, based on the new information you’ve provided, here is an additional paragraph focusing on legislative action to be appended to the end of the previous article:
The Secretary of State replied on September 24th, acknowledging our invitation to visit the area. In her letter (you can read that here) the Rt Hon Emma Reynolds MP confirmed that her Private Office “will consider and reach out if there is an appropriate opportunity to meet”.
Given that the decision around whether the TDRA will go ahead will sit with the Secretary of State, SOLAR sees this as a vital step in forcing the government to back a sustainable approach to London’s water needs. We will therefore continue to push the Minister to come and see and learn about the scheme for herself.