22 Oct 2025
Last week, we received a call from the Head of Strategic Communications at Ofwat.
That’s because thousands of people had signed our petition: ‘Thames Water wants 15 more years of pollution - Ofwat MUST say no’.
This petition was created in response to the Thames Water creditors’ outrageous proposal. They’re currently scrabbling to keep hold of the company which is drowning in approximately £20bn worth of debt.
Certain aspects of the deal might seem welcome - no dividend payouts until 2030, a (slightly) larger share of the debt written off than they had previosuly promised.
The catch? Thames Water creditors want to illegally pollute for the next 15 years. They have stated that - according to the terms of the deal - a ‘full return to legal, regulatory and environmental compliance’ would not take place until at least 2035-2040. Instead, they have put forward their own ‘improvement accountability framework’. Thames Water creditors want to set their own rules.
Pollution is profitable for water companies, because the less money invested in the infrastructure desperately needed to stop spillages, the more money they’re able to pay out to shareholders.
Here are five reasons why this deal cannot be accepted:
1- It would result in 15 more years of pollution of our rivers and seas.
Thames Water was the worst offender for serious pollution incidents last year. Instead of delivering consequences for this, this deal would reward Thames Water’s destruction of our environment.
2- It would set a dangerous precedent for all other English water companies,
Other privatised water companies will also want to set their own rules. This decision impacts not just Thames Water households, but every single household in England.
3- There is a complete lack of transparency and accountability.
The details of the ‘accountability framework’ have not been made clear to members of the public. As consumers and billpayers, we are the most important stakeholders in our water system, and deserve to have a say in how it is run.
4- It is not the best deal for the public purse.
Thames Water creditors have offered a 25% debt write-off. Much more debt would be written off under Special Administration. The previous government’s plans under Project Timber involved a 40% debt haircut for some creditors. We could cut more.
5- This is not what this government promised.
The 2024 manifesto commits to strengthening regulation - this is the very opposite. It also falls short of more recent pledges, such as former Environment Secretary Steve Reed’s commitment to halving sewage pollution by 2030, made in July. According to this deal, Thames Water will only hold themselves to an ‘ambition’ to cut sewage 30% by 2050. What’s more, in his role as Environment Secretary, Reed said that it is ‘only right that the company is subject to the same consequences as any other water company’. Going ahead with this deal would completely contradict that.
Over 20,000 of you signed our petition to make it clear to Ofwat that this deal with Thames Water is unacceptable. Yesterday, we delivered those names directly to Ofwat’s Chief Operating Officer. Two protestors and household representatives challenged Jasbir Bilen on what has been happening to Thames Water, and the upcoming deal. You can watch the video here.
Alongside that, over 6000 of you have sent a letter directly to Ofwat, explaining why Ofwat must say no. If you haven’t already, you can send a letter here.
You are sending a message loud and clear: we will not accept pollution for profit in our water system.
