'They shouldn't be happening': Thames Water boss 'deeply sorry' for untreated sewage spills
Thames Water's chief executive has apologised for untreated sewage spills in rivers as she insisted the company was financially "strong and sound" after a £750m funding injection from shareholders.
Speaking to ITV News London after being quizzed over Thames Water's leaks record at the London Assembly, the interim co-chief executive, Cathryn Ross said the company was "deeply sorry" for its role in polluting waterways.
Earlier she had told the London Assembly Environment Committee Thames Water had been "very clear" that it was sorry for the part it has played "in the state of our aquatic environment".
Ms Ross said the dumping of raw sewage into rivers was a "really complex problem to solve".
"We are responsible for part of the pollution in our waterways and we need to stop discharging untreated sewage and we've got a programme of work that will deliver that," she told ITV News London.
Around 40 million tonnes of raw, untreated sewage is currently discharged into the Thames every year.
Over the weekend, London Waterkeeper posted images of trees along the River Lea in Hackney Marshes draped with wet wipes.
The campaign group wrote on Twitter: "Sewage has created a grotesque landscape along the banks of one of London's few natural rivers.
"The Lea along the eastern edge of Hackney Marshes is the original channel. It was the border between the Vikings & Saxons.
"Now its trees are draped with wet wipes."
Thames Water is the UK’s biggest water supplier and provides water services for 15 million people in London and the South East. It has come under pressure in recent years over its poor performance in tackling leaks and sewage contamination, while facing criticism for handing out big rewards to top bosses and shareholders.
Ms Ross took over the role after the departure of former CEO Sarah Bentley, who was forced to give up her bonus over the company’s environmental performance, in June.
Speaking to the London Assembly committee on Tuesday, Ms Ross said: "I think we've been very transparent for several years now, I know my predecessor was one of the first chief execs to say, unequivocally, discharge of untreated sewage into rivers is unacceptable, it absolutely is, it shouldn't be happening."
On Monday, the beleaguered company staved off nationalisation after its shareholders have agreed to pump another £750 million in funding into the utility giant, but warned another £2.5 billion will be needed by 2030 as it struggles under a £14 billion debt mountain.The funding agreement came as its annual results laid bare the financial woes at the group, with debts swelling to £14 billion from £12.9 billion the previous year and remaining in the red with underlying pre-tax losses of £82.6 million for the year to March 31.
Speaking on Tuesday, Ms Ross told ITV News London Thames Water was in a "strong and sound financial position". "We said a couple of weeks ago, we had £4.4 billion available to use in cash and credit facilities. That's absolutely all the money we need to pay the bills that we need to pay over the next year or so. "We're delighted we've got shareholders support funding us for £750 million for this control period. That is all the money we need from our shareholders to deliver what we officially need to deliver over the next couple of years."
She admitted the company had to phrase some of projects a little bit longer than we originally planned, blaming last year's drought.
Ms Ross also spoke of the increasing scarcity of water as she spoke of the need for people to rethink their habits.
"But we actually need to change our national conversation about water, we need to change how we think about water.
"We need to understand, for example, that London has more or less the same rainfall as Jerusalem and we're not living in a wet country where we can take water for granted."
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