Thousands of Thames Water customers in London faced water outages, adding to the mounting pressure on the company already under investigation by Ofwat for failing to meet environmental targets.
Thousands of Thames Water customers in London experienced water disruptions today, coinciding with a new investigation launched by the water regulator, Ofwat , into the company. Residents in Crystal Palace and surrounding areas with postcodes SE19, SE20, SE23, SE26, SE27, and SW16 faced either no water supply or extremely low pressure. Thames Water attributed the issue to a burst pipe, which its staff worked through the night to repair, alongside a separate leak at a local pumping station.
However, the lack of water supply has sparked anger among residents, who are already grappling with substantial increases in their bills from England's largest water firm. The company has been notifying customers via email this week that bills for typical metered water and wastewater users will rise by £16 per month in 2025-26.Micon Metcalfe, a resident of West Norwood, shared her experience with Metro, stating that her water supply ceased at 4 pm yesterday. She remarked, 'We've had periodic supply issues in the winter – a lot of burst pipes – but this is the longest we've had no supply for a long time. We used some water from an outside garden canister to heat up for washing. Thames Water have given updates periodically but no actual timescales.' Another local resident, Fotis Begklis, a filmmaker, expressed his frustration on Twitter, writing: 'More than 12 hours without water in West Norwood. We don't have water to drink and flush the toilet.'This water outage comes as Ofwat initiated an investigation into Thames Water concerning concerns that the company may not complete over 100 environmental schemes funded by its customers. The regulator stated that it would probe whether these delays constitute a breach of Thames Water's license. These schemes aimed to enhance water companies' environmental performance, including upgrades to sewage treatment works and reductions in wastewater spills. Ofwat's Senior Director for Enforcement, Lynn Parker, emphasized the seriousness of potential breaches, stating: 'Customers have paid for Thames Water to carry out these essential environmental schemes. We take any indication that water companies are not meeting their legal obligations very seriously. Therefore, we have launched an investigation to understand whether the delayed delivery of environmental schemes means that Thames Water has breached its obligations. If we find reason to act, we will use our full range of powers to hold Thames to account for any failures and will require them to put things right.' It's important to note that the initiation of an investigation does not imply guilt, and Ofwat will publish its findings after concluding the investigation.
WATER Outages Thames Water Ofwat Environmental Schemes Regulatory Investigation London UK Water Crisis
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