A source of good news
Living on the banks of Old Father Thames gives me a vested interest in the river’s health, usage and upkeep – and like the twice daily high and low tides, there’s a regular stream of ups and downs in the challenges facing our collective liquid asset.
This week has seen a cluster of ups which I want to highlight as they demonstrate some good things happening in our capital city.
First, the BBC reported that in its first year, the Thames
“Super Sewer “, also known as the Thames Tideway Tunnel, has significantly improved the health of the river. Citing an 86% reduction in raw sewage entering the river in 2025 compared with the previous average, the report also highlighted that the sewer prevented about 84 tonnes of litter, such as wet wipes and sanitary products, from reaching the waterway.
The report also found that conditions for fish and other aquatic wildlife in the tidal Thames had improved since the super sewer began operating, and on a personal note I can report a seal sighting this week along with the numerous and regular sightings of cormorants and egrets. Fish do appear to be plentiful.
To me this demonstrates that the investment in water & sewerage infrastructure is paying off. And it’s delivered a bonus in public realm along the tidal Thames as Tideway has invested in new public open spaces and public art .
The second piece of good news was that Thames 21 held its autumn wet wipe count on the Hammersmith foreshore over the weekend. This event drew about 50 volunteer citizen scientists who responded to this call to action:
“Until the Thames Tideway Tunnel was connected up earlier this year, rainfall in central London often caused the sewers to overflow, sending hundreds of thousands of wet wipes into the river where they accumulated on the riverbed. The Big Wet Wipe Count has allowed us to record the scale of the problem, and we are looking for volunteers to continue these surveys, which will now help to assess the impact the tunnel. To assess the scale of the problem and the impact of the tunnel, we are looking for volunteers to survey the wet wipes on the foreshore and record the final number”.
The Guardian reported that the volunteers, which included retirees, students, and a Sudanese refugee, together found a drop in wet wipes by more than half since their last count in April.
Further upriver this week an initiative to make the Thames drinkable received royal backing as the Duke of Gloucester opened The River Thames project in Kingston. This project is part of a wider initiative called Mayors for a Drinkable Thames,, a network of boroughs, mayors, councillors nd local river guardians that “adopts the compass of a drinkable Thames to give a shared direction to work towards … a drinkable Thames helps us to encourage (local) actions as well as with our regional and watershed collaboration and commitment”.
And midweek I attended a meeting of the Thames Towpath Group, an impressive collection of individuals representing local authorities, statutory bodies and voluntary groups, all connected through a shared respect for the River Thames. Some of the organisations represented include
Attendance and participation in the group is voluntary, and this week’s agenda focused on trees, benches and cleanups, with each group reporting on their activities. The result is a repository of rich and current data on the river and its environs.
The Thames brings Londoners together, and long may this continue. It’s rare to see collaborative work in action which inspires individuals, organisations and communities across all party affiliations and backgrounds.
On that note, I leave you with a followup: this week the Thames was a source of good news, but challenges remain. Thames Water is not a source of good news, and despite taking control of the Tideway Tunnel it remains criitically underfunded in other locations, including the area around Teddington where it announced earlier this year that it intends to progress its TDRA (Teddington Direct River Abstraction) project which does not meet international standards.
A petition has been made which closes on 1 November :
“We urge the government to review the regulations for new sewage treatment infrastructure and introduce new legislation to ensure high international standards are met; to safeguard people’s health, better protect all water bodies and reduce damaging long term impacts.”
At this posting it has 49,102 signatures -- please sign and join the Thames fan club – you’ll be a source of good news!
Clare Delmar
Listen to Locals
16 October 2026
