Local MP, Munira Wilson, has submitted a response to Thames Water's Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) statutory consultation, opposing the scheme.

The company launched its 10- week statutory public consultation on the TDRA on Tuesday, 17 June, and residents have until 26 August to submit a response.

In her letter, Munira Wilson MP highlights her concerns about the TDRA proposals "on behalf of residents".

Her concerns include the environmental impact of the TDRA proposals, including on water quality, human health, biodiversity and wildlife.

The MP added: "This is not to mention the construction upheaval that would wreak havoc in precious local nature areas.

"Whilst I appreciate that Thames Water is consulting residents, it doesn't change the fact that, time and time again, Thames Water has failed to make the case that the Teddington sewage recycling proposals are the right proposals to achieve its stated objective of ensuring drought resilience.

"This is particularly true given that more viable alternative proposals are available; that the environmental, construction and social impacts still have yet to be fully assessed; and that Thames Water's contention the TDRA represents the 'best value' option still has yet to be proven. This is not to mention the issue of trust."

In her letter, Munira Wilson MP suggested that "Trust in water companies was already at rock bottom; the shocking revelations about Thames Water's financial state – alongside the recent Independent Water Commission Report – have put these concerns into even sharper relief".

 She said she believes that the TDRA is "the wrong answer to the right question" and that, for these reasons, the TDRA should be removed from Thames Water's Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) "once and for all".

The MP also highlighted the environmental impacts the TDRA will have on sporting clubs, youth groups, and families who enjoy using the Thames.

She said: "The River Thames is at the beating heart of our community on both sides of the river - from Twickenham to Teddington, from Ham to Richmond – which is why Thames Water's proposals are so concerning."

 The MP added that she was "pleased when, at the end of last year, the Mayor of London and the Environment Secretary announced a 10-year water quality plan that included prioritising our stretch of the river at Teddington for wild swimming".

However, she said she "was also perplexed, given that the River Thames in Teddington already had the sixth greatest concentration of PFAS in the UK between 2019-2022 (eleven times above safe levels set out by the EU)".

Following this Munira Wilson MP introduced a Bill in Parliament to require water companies, by law, to limit the levels of these dangerous chemicals in our water supply.

She said: "With PFAS levels already high, I have challenged Thames Water about how it will ensure that proposals to pump treated effluent into the river above Teddington Lock won't add yet more dangerous chemicals into our precious river."

 She also asked Thames Water what assessments has it made of the impact of the TDRA on water quality in a stretch of river that is already at risk?

The MP added: "Will Thames Water commit to releasing release raw pilot tertiary treatment plant water quality data (including PFAS) as soon as it is available?"

She also asked why Thames Water not considering quaternary treatmen, saying: "We would love nothing more than for the water at Teddington to be safe for everyone to swim in, but we struggle to see how this is compatible with Thames Water's TDRA proposals.

"Apart from human health, there are still too many unanswered questions about the impact on wildlife and biodiversity. Construction impacts I was pleased that, following the last consultation, Thames Water issued revised designs for the TDRA that scrapped controversial construction elements in Moormead Park (alongside three other sites)."

Moreover, Munira Wilson MP highlighted various campaigns against the TDRA that have been conducted by herself, campaign groups, and locals, saying: "It doesn't change a fundamental fact – that residents do not want the Teddington DRA to go ahead at all."

She added: "We are not questioning the need to have robust drought resilience plans to futureproof our water supply. 

"What we are arguing is that the Teddington proposals are the wrong proposals to achieve these objectives – particularly given Thames Water's dire financial state and the fact that better, more viable alternatives are available."

Thames Water hosted eight in-person and two online consultation meetings throughout the end of June and July, which saw presentations from the project team summarising the proposals, the consultation process, and how to respond.

Feedback on the consultation must be submitted in writing by 11.59pm on 26 August.

 Feedback can be submitted in one of the following ways: 

• By filling in the online feedback form, which can be found on the consultation website.
• Emailing the dedicated consultation response email address at [email protected] 
• Filling in one of Thames Water's printed feedback forms available at the events or at one of the various locations in the community (details can be found on the project website) and posting it free of charge to FREEPOST TDRA CONSULTATION.  
• Writing free of charge at FREEPOST TDRA CONSULTATION 

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "Our proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction project will play a vital role in protecting London's water supply during periods of drought. The project will work by putting treated recycled water from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works, through an additional stage of cleaning known as Tertiary Treatment. This will enable us to top up the Thames with clean, recycled water, to compensate for the water taken.

 "We want to reassure local people that the recycled water used to replenish the River Thames will comply with environmental standards and will not deteriorate the water quality. We're currently conducting a tertiary treatment trial that's being supported by off-site laboratory testing and the results will be reviewed by the Environment Agency to help determine whether a licence should be granted in the future. We'll also share the result as part of our Development Consent Order application."