Thames Water ordered to fix leaks before pumping millions of litres from rivers

Environment Agency tells supplier to rethink plans to tackle droughts by pumping water from Thames and Severn

Thames Water has been told by the Environment Agency it needs to do more to fix the 630m litres of water it leaks a day before it starts taking water from the River Thames or from Wales to tackle drought problems.

The company has published its ideas for tackling climate crisis-induced droughts across London and the south-east, which include abstracting millions of litres a day from the River Thames and replacing it with treated effluent, to taking 155m litres a day from Wales.