There is “deep dissatisfaction” over Thames Water’s ability to protect people’s health, maintain essential services, and stop “persistent sewage discharges”.
Waverley Borough Council (WBC) has called on the Government to take what it called urgent action over the privatised utility firm’s failures.
It comes following a series of complaints against Thames Water across the Waverley and East Hampshire areas.
WBC questioned Thames Water’s ability to meet basic duties and has written to MPs, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Steve Reed, as well as the water company’s chief executive Chris Weston.
Thames Water has said that it manages the water supply for 16 million people and has an “ambitious business plan” to maintain safe, high-quality drinking water and fix its ageing infrastructure.
The council’s letter expresses “deep dissatisfaction with Thames Water’s ability to maintain essential services, given its history of significant and repeated water supply failures affecting hundreds of households, an inadequate response to these failures, and persistent sewage discharges from storm overflows”.
Cllr Steve Williams, Waverley Borough Council portfolio holder for environment, said: “Thames Water’s persistent failures are unacceptable. Households have endured supply disruptions, environmental damage has escalated due to sewage discharges, and the company’s financial mismanagement has put the future of its services at serious risk.
“It is clear that urgent government intervention is needed. Waverley Borough Council is calling for Thames Water to be brought into public ownership to protect residents, safeguard our environment, and ensure responsible management of this essential service.”
There were also worries raised about “the company’s alarming financial instability, with debts reaching approximately £19 billion in December 2024, further casting doubt on Thames Water’s ability to deliver safe and efficient services.”
Waverley Borough Council has said it no longer has confidence in Thames Water’s ability to effectively manage its responsibilities and urged the Government to put the firm into special administration to ensure public interests are protected.
It also called water privatisation a failed experiment that should be brought back into public control to ensure greater transparency, accountability, and investment in critical infrastructure.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We are taking care of water for 16 million customers across the region, every single day.
“We have an ambitious business plan for the next five years to help us meet our customers’ priorities which include maintaining safe high quality drinking water, ensuring security of water supplies, delivering further environmental improvements, and building greater resilience to help us address an ageing asset base, climate change and population growth.”
In November last year, the Herald reported how Thames Water had pumped gallons of sewage into the River Wey from five sites – with one discharge lasting 49 hours.
Earlier this month, Godalming and Ash MP, Jeremy Hunt, called for “urgent and decisive” measures over the sewage crisis flooding in Alfold in his constituency.