Is Thames Water about to collapse?

[wemakeyousoundb]

'People are right to be angry', says water boss

The boss of Water UK says the UK's system is old and that bill rises proposed should be higher.

www.bbc.co.uk

they're looking for a bailout aren't they?

do you mean "keep creaming the profits while dumping the costs of doing the works onto the taxpayer"?

 

[two sheds]

yes that was the phrase I was looking for

 

[Tropi]

Who would've guessed? As the Flying Lizards once said 'Money (That's What I Want)'

Thames Water lobbied Whitehall to press Ofwat on allowing higher bills

Exclusive: Debt-ridden company also warned officials of ‘chilling effect’ of any renationalisation

www.theguardian.com

 

[stethoscope]

For fucks sake!

Labour in apparent disarray over Thames cleanup plan

Minister approved Thames Water project at location prioritised by Sadiq Khan for wild swimming

www.theguardian.com

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced plans to prioritise an area of the river in Teddington, south-west London, to make it safe and clean for swimming as part of a new 10-year strategy to reduce pollution in the river and encourage people to spend time in and around it.

Supporting Khan as he made the announcement was the environment secretary, Steve Reed. But Reed just last week approved a controversial scheme to allow Thames Water to pump 75m litres a day of treated sewage into the river at the same spot in Teddington.

 

[cupid_stunt]

For fucks sake!

Labour in apparent disarray over Thames cleanup plan

Minister approved Thames Water project at location prioritised by Sadiq Khan for wild swimming

www.theguardian.com

...allow Thames Water to pump 75m litres a day of treated sewage into the river at the same spot in Teddington.

That's normal, where else is it supposed to go, if not into rivers and the sea?

The problem is when they pump untreated sewage into waterways.

 

[stethoscope]

That's normal, where else is it supposed to go, if not into rivers and the sea?

The problem is when they pump untreated sewage into waterways.

I mean, yes, you're right in that respect. It just looks, er, crap!

 

[kenny g]

I mean, yes, you're right in that respect. It just looks, er, crap!

That's normal, where else is it supposed to go, if not into rivers and the sea?

The problem is when they pump untreated sewage into waterways.

Will probably be full of pharmaceuticals and class A's.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I mean, yes, you're right in that respect. It just looks, er, crap!

That's why the Guardian is going down the pan!

 

[cupid_stunt]

Will probably be full of pharmaceuticals and class A's.

It will be, it's not treated for that, even if it's possible to do.

 

[kenny g]

It will be, it's not treated for that, even if it's possible to do.

Nothing to worry about I'm sure:

£30bn bill to purify water system after toxic impact of contraceptive pill

Drug firms oppose an EU call for controls on potent chemicals that have been blamed for the gender mutation of freshwater fish

www.theguardian.com

 

[ska invita]

Southern Water.... unbelievable story....
This is what happens when all profits are siphoned off

Southern Water considers shipping supplies from Norwegian fjords to UK | Water industry | The Guardian

Contingency plan using sea tankers to deal with future shortages would be paid for from customers’ bills

amp.theguardian.com

 

[cupid_stunt]

Southern Water.... unbelievable story....
This is what happens when all profits are siphoned off

Southern Water considers shipping supplies from Norwegian fjords to UK | Water industry | The Guardian

Contingency plan using sea tankers to deal with future shortages would be paid for from customers’ bills

amp.theguardian.com

Ironically Southern Water, in partnership with Portsmouth Water, is actually currently building the first new reservoir in the UK for 30 years!

About Havant Thicket Reservoir

Why do we need a new reservoir?Havant Thicket Reservoir is first and foremost an environmentally-led project.Its purpose is to protect some of our country’s rarest chalk streams – the River Test and the River Itchen.Southern Water, which supplies our neighbours in West Sussex and Hampshire, is...

havant-thicket-reservoir.uk.engagementhq.com

 

[stethoscope]

Labour used water industry analysis to argue against nationalisation

‘Economically illiterate’ Defra letter sent to anti-sewage groups cites 2018 report commissioned by water companies

www.theguardian.com

"The Social Market Foundation calculated the likely cost of renationalisation to be £90bn, drawing on publicly available data from Ofwat, the London Stock Exchange and the annual accounts of the water companies. Renationalisation would impose a huge burden on the public purse at a time when public finances are already stretched."

Sir Dieter Helm, a leading economist, called the analysis “economically illiterate”.

Moody’s rating agency has disputed this figure and estimated that nationalisation could actually cost £14.5bn – a fraction of the analysis amount.

(the Social Market Foundation is a Tufton Street thinktank)

 

[SpookyFrank]

Labour used water industry analysis to argue against nationalisation

‘Economically illiterate’ Defra letter sent to anti-sewage groups cites 2018 report commissioned by water companies

www.theguardian.com

(the Social Market Foundation is a Tufton Street thinktank)

14.5 billion works out cheaper than a bailout. And presumably that cost would be for compensating shareholders, but those shareholders have invested in non-viable businesses and should be told to go eat shit. Your capital is at risk, remember?

 

[Indeliblelink]

Thames Water secures £3bn loan to survive into 2025

The UK's biggest utility company agrees a lifeline to help it last until next October.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[brogdale]

Thames Water secures £3bn loan to survive into 2025

The UK's biggest utility company agrees a lifeline to help it last until next October.

www.bbc.co.uk

Completely logical for neoliberal asset managers to pour more petrol debt on their already existing debt skip-fire. When you're the owner of a too-big-to-fail monopoly provider of man's most basic need, there'll always be a day when the state uses our money to bail them out, so to retain control just keep on borrowing.

 

[_Russ_]

Ironically Southern Water, in partnership with Portsmouth Water, is actually currently building the first new reservoir in the UK for 30 years!

About Havant Thicket Reservoir

Why do we need a new reservoir?Havant Thicket Reservoir is first and foremost an environmentally-led project.Its purpose is to protect some of our country’s rarest chalk streams – the River Test and the River Itchen.Southern Water, which supplies our neighbours in West Sussex and Hampshire, is...

havant-thicket-reservoir.uk.engagementhq.com

I find the fact that we need to do anything to increase the available supply of water in this country quite frankly baffling, I get that it must be easier to form a mahoosive pond than fix the leaking pipes our great grandfathers laid but still it rains all the fucking time...when was the last time you saw an empty reservoir in this country? (yes Im old enough to remember 1976..it was a fucking long time ago)

 

[WouldBe]

when was the last time you saw an empty reservoir in this country? (yes Im old enough to remember 1976..it was a fucking long time ago)

It occurs all the time hence hosepipe bans.

 

[bluescreen]

Plenty of water falls, but not in the right places. I live in a water stressed area, and it just wouldn't be able to cope with the amount of new houses they want to build unless there's a new reservoir.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I've never had a hosepipe ban here, despite being in the Southern Water area, because we're lucky enough to have our water supply from underground aquas in the hills of the South Downs National Park, but much of the company's area is water stressed, as is the Portsmouth Water area, hence this joint project, which will reduce the need of over extraction from rivers during periods when they are running at low levels, and help to protect wildlife and the wider environment.

But, I am not surprised that _Russ_ finds this 'frankly baffling'.

 

[tim]

I find the fact that we need to do anything to increase the available supply of water in this country quite frankly baffling, I get that it must be easier to form a mahoosive pond than fix the leaking pipes our great grandfathers laid but still it rains all the fucking time...when was the last time you saw an empty reservoir in this country? (yes Im old enough to remember 1976..it was a fucking long time ago)

I've seen reservoirs fairly empty quite often in the Peak District; drowned villages reappearing etc.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

I've never had a hosepipe ban here, despite being in the Southern Water area, because we're lucky enough to have our water supply from underground aquas in the hills of the South Downs National Park, but much of the company's area is water stressed, as is the Portsmouth Water area, hence this joint project, which will reduce the need of over extraction from rivers during periods when they are running at low levels, and help to protect wildlife and the wider environment.

But, I am not surprised that _Russ_ finds this 'frankly baffling'.

do the extraction happen upstream or downstream from the overspills?

 

[_Russ_]

It occurs all the time hence hosepipe bans.

No it doesnt, they get low sometimes, hardly ever Empty. The hosepipe bans are mostly due to there being so many fucking leaks that flow and pressure can't be maintained unless the resorvoirs are at least half full
and lets face it Hosepipe bans are pretty fucking rare anyway

 

[_Russ_]

I've seen reaervoirs fairly empty quite often in the Peak District; drowned villages reappearing etc.

Indeed and fairly empty (a strange term in itself) I presume means low not empty

 

[_Russ_]

I've never had a hosepipe ban here, despite being in the Southern Water area, because we're lucky enough to have our water supply from underground aquas in the hills of the South Downs National Park, but much of the company's area is water stressed, as is the Portsmouth Water area, hence this joint project, which will reduce the need of over extraction from rivers during periods when they are running at low levels, and help to protect wildlife and the wider environment.

But, I am not surprised that _Russ_ finds this 'frankly baffling'.

Oh fuck orfff

 

[cupid_stunt]

Indeed and fairly empty (a strange term in itself) I presume means low not empty

And, there you have it, Russ doesn't think anything should be done to ensure future water supplies, until reservoirs run empty, by which time it'll too late.

We should all knee down and knowledge his expertise on this subject.

 

[WouldBe]

No it doesnt, they get low sometimes, hardly ever Empty. The hosepipe bans are mostly due to there being so many fucking leaks that flow and pressure can't be maintained unless the resorvoirs are at least half full
and lets face it Hosepipe bans are pretty fucking rare anyway

If there weren't so many leaks the reservoirs wouldn't get low enough to impose a hosepipe ban.

 

[existentialist]

That's normal, where else is it supposed to go, if not into rivers and the sea?

The problem is when they pump untreated sewage into waterways.

We had a sewage farm quite near where I used to live when I was growing up. Every year or so, they'd do an open day, and you could go on a guided tour. Most notable were the vast fields of tomato plants in the "fields" of drying sewage (tomato seeds apparently survive the digestive tract very well), and the little stand at the end where you could get a cup of tea made from the water they discharged from the plant. I demurred, but I am sure it must have been OK.

 

[tim]

We had a sewage farm quite near where I used to live when I was growing up. Every year or so, they'd do an open day, and you could go on a guided tour. Most notable were the vast fields of tomato plants in the "fields" of drying sewage (tomato seeds apparently survive the digestive tract very well), and the little stand at the end where you could get a cup of tea made from the water they discharged from the plant. I demurred, but I am sure it must have been OK.

I feel we need Mogden's insight on tea and sewage farms.

 

[SpookyFrank]

No it doesnt, they get low sometimes, hardly ever Empty. The hosepipe bans are mostly due to there being so many fucking leaks that flow and pressure can't be maintained unless the resorvoirs are at least half full
and lets face it Hosepipe bans are pretty fucking rare anyway

If you completely empty a reservoir it doesn't work any more, even once it has filled up again. South west water wasn't aware of this, and had to be told by the government during the horrendous drought of 2022 that they couldn't just drain every drop they had. Absolutely absurd.