Carlotta writes*
London is in the driest area of the UK, and it will become even drier, as climate change will increase the frequency and severity of dry, hot summers. Additionally, London’s population, currently estimated at 9.7 million, is expected to rise to 10.6 million by the year 2035, which raises the question of whether and how Thames Water, London’s utility, will be able to ensure reliable water supply in the future.
Thames Water obtains around 80% of its water supply from the river Thames and reservoirs that are fed by rainfall and the river itself, but as already mentioned, this water source is becoming more vulnerable in the future due to climate change. According to the Environment Agency, London could run out of water by the year 2050. Apart from climate change, there are two other contributors to this prediction: leaking water pipes and overconsumption. London’s water infrastructure partly dates back to the Victorian era, which explains the enormous amount of leaked water due to deteriorating water pipes.
Although, since the privatisation of the UK’s water system, leakage has improved, Thames Water still reports a leakage of 570 ML per day in the year 2023/24, which creates a leakage of almost 60l per person per day. Compared to the mayor’s aim to reduce water consumption to 105l per person per day, this high amount of leakage is concerning, as it is more than 50% of the targeted usage. Thames Water already failed to meet its target to reduce leakage by 12% in 2023/24, with only a 7% reduction. Thus, Thames Water is under great pressure to secure the future of London’s reliable water supply by increasing its efforts to refurbish the city’s ageing water infrastructure.
Moreover, Londoner’s current average water consumption is above the industry’s average of 140l per day. The government’s plan to reduce overall water usage includes the widespread installation of more smart water meters which are expected to increase the consumer’s awareness of consumption.
Apart from London’s increasing risk of water scarcity, Thames Water has been criticised and fined for non-compliance with sewage regulations repeatedly over the past years, as billions of litres of untreated sewage water have entered the Thames, causing harm to the environment and public health. As climate change increases the risk of heavy, unpredictable rainfall which creates quick run-off, increasing stress on sewage systems, these problems will only exacerbate if Thames Water does not maximise its efforts to fix London’s water infrastructure.
Bottom Line: London’s water infrastructure is unprepared for the future impacts of climate change on water supply and quality, because water leakage is only reduced slowly while demand is expected to rise.
* Please help my Water Scarcity students by commenting on unclear analysis, alternative perspectives, better data sources, or maybe just saying something nice 🙂
How typical is London among the set of large urban area water systems? Are other big cities with old infrastructure facing similar issues? Fascinating article!
Dear E. O. Pederson, thank you very much for your comment. Unfortunately, I am only focusing my research on London. Hence, I am unable to answer your questions. Nevertheless, I am thankful for your engagement with my blog post.
This is an interesting article and serves as a great place to compare London with my case study city, elsewhere in the UK. Both are in very dry areas and face scarcity issues. Anglian Water is looking to increase supply along side reducing demand in my city. Do you know if Thames Water is also looking to increasing supply, or is it just focusing on decreasing demand?
Do you think the company’s financial issues are going to hamper its efforts to reduce water demand, leakage, and sewage dumping too?
Thank you for your comment Brad! Thames water is indeed looking into increasing its supply. One planned project is the construction of a new reservoir in Oxfordshire which is supposed to start operation in 2040. However, this project might come too late to deal with the water supply issues Thames Water will likely face within the next few years. Regarding your second question: Thames Water’s financial crisis is definitely hindering the fast and much needed refurbishment of the current ageing water infrastructure. Due to their pile of accumulated debts, new investments and revenue from increasing customer bills will likely be directed towards saving the utility from collapse rather than focusing on infrastructure developments.
https://timworstall.substack.com/p/its-the-regulator-bankrupting-thames
Good post but he misses the point of regulation— trying to protect customers from over charges. It’s just the flip side of current (too low?) prices.