Local MP, Munira Wilson, spoke out against Thames Water's Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project last week after the company failed to attend a community meeting hosted by campaign group Save Our Land and River (SOLAR) at The Wharf on Tuesday (29 July).

Highlighting the company's absence, a poster with the words "Thames Water declined our invitation" was stationed at the meeting.

Speaking about this, SOLAR said: "They [Thames Water] refused to attend our community meeting – claiming it "wouldn't be constructive." Translation: unless they control the narrative, they won't face your questions.

"Our rivers, our environment, our future – we deserve answers."

In her speech Munira MP said: "How can we trust you [Thames Water] when you have failed for years to invest in the infrastructure and therefore the fact that we've got hundreds of millions of litres of water being leaked out of the water systems every day.

"And the TDRA is only going to save a fraction of that."

SOLAR hosted a community meeting in protest of Thames Water's Teddington Abstraction project at The Wharf on Tuesday (Credit: Nub News)

At the meeting, thousands of people signed SOLAR's free protest postcards in protest against the TDRA project, which can be collected at The Wharf, The Anglers, and The Flying Cloud Café.

The postcards state he postcard states: "I am writing to object in full to Thames Water's proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) Scheme. TDRA will cause permanent damage to the local environment and the water quality of the River Thames. There are many better alternative schemes Thames Water has failed to consider properly. By including my name and postcode below I expect my objection to be taken into account and formally registered by Thames Water."

They need to be signed by 26 August if you would like to get involved.

Leaflets were also handed out at the meeting, saying: "at least 2.5 times more treated sewage will enter the river than water taken out' and 'to deliver this scheme Thames Water plans to dig a 4.5km tunnel under homes, parks and businesses in Isleworth, Twickenham, Teddington, Ham and Kingston and construction will last up to 2 years."

In response to Munira MP's statement, a Thames Water spokesperson said: "We have a good track record when it comes to delivering major infrastructure projects.

"Earlier this year the Thames Tideway Tunnel was fully connected and will reduce the volume of discharges entering the tidal Thames in a typical year by 95%. To date the tunnel network has diverted over 7.8 million tonnes of sewage from the river.  

 "Leakage is also at its lowest ever level on our network, down 13.2% since 2020, but we know we have more work to do. As part of our plan to secure future water supply, we've committed to halving leakage by 2050 and helping our customers reduce their water use. However, this alone won't be enough, we need to invest in new sources of water.

"Our proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction project will protect Londoners' water supply during periods of drought, providing up to 75 million litres of water each day.  

 "Local communities also have our absolute assurance that no sewage will enter the River Thames through our Teddington Direct River Abstraction Project (TDRA). It is physically impossible by design."

Speaking about why it did not attend Tuesday's meeting, a spokesperson from the company told Nub News: "We're over halfway through our statutory consultation where we are gathering feedback on our proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction project.

"As part of our consultation, we recently held eight in person events and two online welcoming over 700 people. Residents have been able to find out more about the project, ask questions and speak face-to-face with our team."