Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps the Environment Agency and Ofwat will take following the Teddington direct river abstraction proposal to ensure that Thames Water meets its obligations, given its Strategic Environmental Assessment directive and failure to present an environmental report or to allow the public an opportunity effectively to express their opinion about it.

Proposals for Teddington direct river abstraction need to follow the statutory Water Resource Management Plan (WRMP) process, which includes the requirement for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Thames Water published its draft WRMP in December 2022 with a 12-week public consultation period. Thames Water received 80 representations specific to Teddington from stakeholders and the public. The company has recently published a statement of response outlining how it plans to address the points raised.

The feasibility of Teddington is also being investigated in more detail as part of a London Reuse strategic resource option (SRO). The investigation into the feasibility of this SRO along with another 17 across the country is managed by RAPID (Regulators Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development) which is a partnership that is made up of the three water regulators Ofwat, Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate. The investigation process is split into ‘gates’ and at each gate the SRO is required to publish evidence based Environmental Assessment Reports. London Reuse published its Gate 2 reports in winter 22/23 allowing a 6-week window for public consultation.