Munira Wilson presented a petition on Thames Water's proposals to put treated sewage in the river at Teddington, in the House of Commons yesterday (12 December).  

Residents have expressed concern with the private company's Direct River Abstraction (DRA) plans to extract up to 75 million litres of water from the Thames in Teddington and replace it with treated effluent from Mogden Sewage Treatment work. 

Introducing the petition, the Lib Dem MP said: "I sincerely hope that Ministers will listen to the more than 700 residents who have signed this petition, the almost 30,000 people who have signed the Change.org petition and the many hundreds who responded to the company's consultation on the water resources management plan, all of whom are deeply concerned about the significant environmental, social and construction impacts." 

A public petition is presented by an MP to the House of Commons in which they are asking the commons to act. The petitioners request that the House of Commons ask the Government to remove the Teddington DRA as an option in the Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which is currently under review by DEFRA. 

Ms Wilson has also held debates in parliament and sent a letter to Thames Water CEO Catheryn Ross, explaining her concerns of the environmental, construction and social impacts the scheme would have in her constituency.  

The petition declares the potential risks this presents to local areas, both in terms of the impact on human health, the environment and biodiversity, and in terms of the disruption caused by construction in residential areas, as well as in nature areas in Moormead Park, and heritage and archaeology assets in Ham Lands. 

Residents and campaign groups claim that more viable alternatives to the Teddington DRA, with broader public support, have been discarded by Thames Water.  

The news follows the end of Thames Water's newest round of public consultation, starting on 31 October and ending 11 December 2023.  

Analysing the responses, the Independent Response Analyst company IPSOS will provide a report on resident feedback. Meanwhile Thames Water said it will continue its designs for the project.    

The text of the petition will be sent to the Government department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A response is 'normally' received within two months from the department, but this might take a bit longer if there is a recess.  

The Petitions Committee oversees both public petitions and e-petitions submitted through the House of Commons and Government e-petitions website. It can recommend further action on certain petitions.