Teddington's local MP, Munira Wilson, was present in parliament yesterday afternoon to raise concerns on the silence she has received from the Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience regarding Thames Water's treated effluent plans in Teddington.

Back in early March, alongside Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney, Ms Wilson wrote to Rebecca Pow requesting a meeting to discuss Thames Water's scheme which would involve taking up to 75 million litres of water a day from the Thames around 300m upstream of Teddington Lock, and transporting it via existing tunnels under the capital to the east of London to supply customers.

After a 10-week silence from Ms Pow, Ms Wilson addressed the Deputy Speaker in parliament on Thursday, Sir Roger Dale, to seek suggestions on how she could gain a response from the minister.

Speaking in parliament, Ms Wilson said: "My hon. Friend and I are seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister to discuss plans by Thames Water to abstract water from the River Thames near Teddington and Ham in our constituencies, and to replace it with treated effluent.

"As you can imagine, Mr Deputy Speaker, thousands of our constituents have voiced their concern about the scheme and are eager to hear the position of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which has a pivotal role in Thames Water's plans progressing. Having already chased the Minister's private office, how can my hon. Friend and I secure a response to our letter?"

The Deputy Speaker, Sir Roger Dale responded: "Letters from hon. Members to Ministers should be dealt with promptly. The hon. Member has put her and her hon. Friend's concerns on the record, and they will have been heard by those on the Government Front Bench.

"I trust that this will lead to a satisfactory conclusion in the very near future, but if it does not, there are a number of avenues open to her. She can table questions and, potentially, she can also seek an Adjournment debate. The Table Office will be able to advise her on how to go about that."

Since Thames Water's effluent plans in Teddington were revealed in January, just under 17,000 borough residents and beyond have signed a petition opposing the water company's controversial scheme.

Local residents are keen to make their voices heard.

Thames Water has said the scheme would not impact water quality in the river negatively, and that it aims to cut leaks by 50per cent by 2050 but needs more storage due to growing demand and climate change.

However in March, The Environmental Agency revealed a 'number of reservations about' about the scheme, which has 'not yet been shown to be feasible or environmentally acceptable'.

Despite this, EA along with industry regulator Ofwat, have given approval to a further investigation of the scheme to understand whether the problems can be resolved.

Thames Water has been given permission to continue to explore a scheme to raid the River Thames near Teddington for water and replace it with treated effluent.

Specifically, Thames Water has been given until August 31 to carry out a series of tasks, including:

• Identify mitigation measures for all environmental impacts.
• Work with the EA to discuss permit conditions and temperature mitigation measures required to protect the environment.
• Work with the EA to understand the impacts of chemicals in the effluent from Mogden on migratory fish.
• Improve modelling to fully understand any changes to water quality flowing over/down fish passes and into Teddington weir pool and upper tideway.
• Work with EA fisheries teams to design the intakes and outtakes for water being added and removed from Thames to manage and mitigate any impacts on velocity, fish and the environment of scheme.
• Extend assessment of fisheries impacts to include other migratory fish in the freshwater Thames.

The Teddington scheme has been identified as one of several preferred options by Thames Water, which says it is part of a wider effort to ensure the company captures enough water to supply homes and businesses in future decades.