Local campaign group Save Our Lands and River (SOLAR) has created a petition against Thames Water's abstraction plant at Teddington Weir and its releasing of sewage into the River Thames.

In 2024, Thames Water dumped raw sewage into the Thames for over 8,500 hours - a 35 per cent increase from 2023.

Now the water company has created the Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project, which involves draining up to 75 million litres of water a day from the Thames some 350 metres upstream of Teddington Weir. 

According to SOLAR, "This water would be transferred via an existing underground tunnel to the Lee Valley reservoirs in North London and replaced with treated effluent from the Mogden sewage works, which would be transported some 15km through a new pipeline to Teddington".

SOLAR's concerns about the project include:

• Fears for the impact on river life, fish, insects and plants, because it may impact the biodiversity of the river including changes in the water temperature, oxygen levels and its chemical make-up.
• A 3.5-year construction having a devastating effect on a much-loved part of the river, its bank and the surrounding areas in Ham, Teddington and Richmond, including:

-         Digging 8 large shafts on Ham Lands and in Twickenham, each requiring a construction site the size of half a football pitch,

-         Creation of a construction compound and access roads likely to occupy most of the field at Burnell Avenue in Ham and a large part of the North Kingston and Ham Lands Designated Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation and public amenity areas.

-         Construction of a structure along the riverbank equal to 4 cars in length, over 5m in height and extending up to 5 metres into the river.

-         The long-term destruction or dislocation of large areas of Ham Lands, which are home to a wide diversity of plants and animals, including numerous rare species that are hard to find in London.

-         Thames Water claim this proposal will be safe as they are regulated. SOLAR is worried that although fines may be imposed for breach, this is not enough to protect our river. 

-         Thames Water has repeatedly put profits and shareholders ahead of customers and environment; they were fined £51 Million last October for "missed targets" according to Ofwat. 

You can sign SOLAR's petition here.

It already has 31,844 signatures.