What the petition demands
The petition demands that: “All new wastewater infrastructure must be built to well-established, higher international standards, in line with the revised EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) standards in force since 1 January 2025, to significantly reduce the pollution load on water bodies.”
Ian McNuff, who launched the petition, said: “It is wholly unacceptable that the UK has abandoned the scientific consensus shared by 450 million EU citizens in favour of weaker future water standards. Every swimmer who enters our waters deserves the same protections as their European counterparts – yet we are quietly lowering the bar on the national treasure that is our waterways. Only sustained public pressure will force the urgent action they deserve.”
It's a local and a
national issue
I need to confess a personal interest in this petition. The original motivation behind it is a proposed Thames Water Scheme to remove fresh water from the Thames near Teddington Lock and replace it with treated sewage effluent, but it’s clear that sewage treatment is a national issue.
Regular readers may be aware that this project – known as the Teddington Direct River Abstraction
(TDRA) Scheme – would directly and negatively impact my favourite local swimming spot.
A spokesperson for SOLAR, a campaign group against the TDRA, said: “Thames Water has chosen a site for their proposed scheme immediately beside London’s newly designated bathing water spot to discharge a new source of sub-standard treated sewage. Despite credible alternatives existing, they refuse to consider them.”
Thanks for your support.
