Say NO to Thames Water setting its own rules on sewage

20 Mar 2026

We sent this open letter to the government and Ofwat on Thames Water's creditors' latest proposal on Friday 20th March 2026.

Please write to your MP to ramp up the pressure.

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Dear Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, Water Minister Emma Hardy and Chris Walters, interim CEO of Ofwat,

I am writing to urge every one of you to reject the latest proposal from Thames Water’s creditors and to put the company into Special Administration.

The group of hedge funds which is illegitimately controlling the utility, despite not having been designated Ultimate Controllers, “London and Valley Water” is a group of mostly US based hedge and investment management firms. They do not represent the interests of the 16 million people who have no choice but to rely on Thames Water.

The creditors want to set their own rules on sewage in return for paying the company’s outstanding fines. Their proposal suggests they would not be subject to the outcome delivery incentives regime. They are not revealing to the public the performance targets they do plan to meet. This is unaccountable, unacceptable, and would set a dangerous precedent for every single water company in England, who will all want to be able to flout the rules. (1)

By bringing Thames Water into Special Administration, the government could write off the largest possible amount of debt acquired by this company, instead of loading the cost onto billpayers and the environment. They could refinance the debt more cheaply in the public sector. (2) This Labour government should follow the example of Tony Blair’s government which stood up for the public interest when Railtrack went bust and created publicly owned Network Rail.

24 Thames Water MPs from all parties have called on you to bring Thames Water into Special Administration. (3)

The letter we coordinated from environmental and anti sewage groups has the same demand, signed by Surfers Against Sewage, River Action, Henley Mermaids, Friends of the Thames, Compass, Boycott Thames Water and Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I hope you have watched Channel 4’s Docudrama ‘Dirty Business’which makes it clear that privatisation has failed since 1989. In the US, where Thames Water’s creditors are mostly based, 87% of water is run in public ownership. The government must stop allowing this rip off of households in England.

Thames Water has been in breach of its licence since July 2024. (4) Its shareholders have written off the value of their shares. Enough is enough.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

Cat Hobbs, Director, We Own It

Notes:

1. https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/AW14/recapitalisation-update-on-l-vw-s-proposal/17503411

2. ‘Thames Water nationalisation plan could move bulk of £15bn debt to state’, The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/18/whitehall-blueprint-for-thames-water-nationalisation-could-see-state-take-on-bulk-of-15bn-debt

3. https://weownit.org.uk/news/open-letter-from-thames-water-mps/

4. ‘Thames Water breaches licence conditions with fresh rating downgrade’, Financial Times - https://www.ft.com/content/16640b07-688d-4dff-a870-cb476be470f4