‘Forever chemicals’ surge during pilot of Thames Water plan to combat drought

The Guardian Business Thursday 27 August 2026, 05:00 UTC By Sandra Laville Environment correspondent 1 min read

Key Points

Exclusive: utility company wants to draw off tens of millions of litres of water a day from Thames and replace it with treated effluentLevels of a toxic “forever chemical” rose to 13 times the legal limit during Thames Water pilots for a controversial multimillion pound water recycling scheme that will pump millions of litres of treated sewage into the River Thames during drought. The data from the pilots is in stark contrast to public comments from Thames Water that their water recycling...

Exclusive: utility company wants to draw off tens of millions of litres of water a day from Thames and replace it with treated effluent

Levels of a toxic “forever chemical” rose to 13 times the legal limit during Thames Water pilots for a controversial multimillion pound water recycling scheme that will pump millions of litres of treated sewage into the River Thames during drought.

The data from the pilots is in stark contrast to public comments from Thames Water that their water recycling project in south-west London will not harm the riverine environment.

Thames Water (ORG) Thames (LOCATION) the River Thames (LOCATION) London (LOCATION)

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