Twickenham MP, Munira Wilson, led a debate yesterday in Parliament on Thames Water's plans to discharge millions of litres of treated sewage into the river at Teddington. 

The proposals are currently awaiting the green light from the government so the debate gave the opportunity for local concerns to be put to the Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience, Rebecca Pow.

Opening the debate, Munira highlighted the strength of local feeling against the scheme, including concerns over the environmental impacts on the river and important local habitats for wildlife. 

Munira also raised Thames Water's record on leakage, which is at its highest rate for the past five years.

Since 2019, Richmond Council has fined Thames Water £200,000 for overrunning roadworks and disruption caused by burst pipes in the local area. 

In the debate, Munira Wilson said: "To quote the Environment Agency's response to the proposal, Thames Water have so-far failed to show that the Teddington scheme is 'feasible or environmentally acceptable'. That is a pretty low baseline." 

Several other local MPs spoke in Munira's debate, including Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, stressed that Thames Water's plan to build on Ham Lands would be a catastrophe for the local environment and community in her constituency.

She said: "This 'sewage for water' scheme is symbolic of everything that is wrong with the water industry. It will pollute our waterways, devastate rare local wildlife, and it's only needed because Thames Water failed to invest in its network for decades.  

"I cannot accept that the best solution to securing London's water supply is a scheme that will tear up a nature reserve and dump billions of litres of effluent into the river every year.  

"Tens of thousands of people oppose this scheme. Not one person I have spoken to supports it. We don't need endless consultations, the verdict is already clear, now we just need ministers to listen." 

After the debate Munira said: "After the Minister repeatedly ignored our calls for a meeting to discuss Thames Water's plan, this debate was finally an opportunity to force the Government to listen to the extent of local people's concerns.  

"The Thames runs through the very heart of our community and has shaped our area for hundreds of years. It is no wonder that residents in Teddington, Twickenham, St Margarets and beyond are passionate about protecting it from a water company whose reputation is in the gutter. 

"From lack of investment to leaky pipes, Thames Water are haemorrhaging public trust at the same rate as our water supply. Recent revelations about the construction impacts of the scheme on beautiful local green spaces, such as Moormead Park and Ham Lands, only add fuel to the fire.  

"This scheme is not worth the consequences for our river, our precious local environment and our vibrant community of river user groups." 

 Munira and Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney have written to the Minister once again to request a meeting to discuss the details of Thames Water's proposal.