Thames Water has confirmed that it will be hosting two further public consultation events on their controversial proposal to transfer water out of Teddington Lock and replace it with treated sewage water.

This comes after pressure from Munira Wilson MP for Twickenham and local councillors following backlash from another event which was held at Old Town Hall in Richmond last month.

Munira Wilson MP explained that the event was “hugely oversubscribed and saw local residents queueing around the block to have a chance to learn more about the plans for Teddington”.

Thames Water wants to remove 150 million litres of water a day from the Thames above Teddington lock in south west London and transfer it by a pipeline to reservoirs in the Lee Valley in east London.

The company has put forward this “water recycling” plan to cope with shortages because of the rising population and predicted droughts in the future.

Munira Wilson MP added: “The first consultation event in Richmond demonstrated the strength of local feeling over these plans.

“Given their regular untreated sewage discharges at Mogden and failure to fix local leaks, community trust in Thames Water is at an all time low.

“It is therefore vital that river users and members of our community have the opportunity to scrutinise these plans.

“I am pleased that Thames Water have responded to my calls for further public events, including a Q&A session and an opportunity to attend on the Twickenham side of the river.”

Details of the further consultation events are as follows:

• An online webinar and Q&A on Monday, 27 February between 7pm and 8.30pm.

• A community information event at York House in Twickenham on Friday, 3 March between 2pm and 8pm.

Local residents can register to attend these events on Thames Water’s website here.

The river water will be replaced by treated wastewater from Mogden, one of the biggest sewage plants in the UK, but Thames Water explains that this water would be “highly treated”.

Thames Water has also announced it has begun work on a £100 million upgrade of its Mogden sewage treatment works.

The company says that putting the recycled water into the River Thames above the Teddington Weir will “compensate” the river for the additional abstracted water and protect the environment and wildlife.

It first suggested the plan in 2019, but it was rejected by the Environment Agency because of its impact on the environment.

Nevil Muncaster, Strategic Resources Director at Thames Water, said: “We know local customers have many questions about the proposed new water supply scheme at Teddington.

"We want to reassure them that the proposed scheme isn’t any different to the normal water supply system and is designed to safeguard the river’s water quality. 

“The scheme will work by putting highly treated recycled water from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works, through an additional stage of treatment.

"This would ensure we protect the river’s water quality and would also compensate for the additional water abstracted during a drought.

“We’re in the very early stages of consultation and design and are pleased to be hosting these additional events to answer customer questions on the draft plan and how the scheme would work. 

“It’s critical that we secure our water supply for future generations, which includes building new water resources infrastructure.

"We want to hear from local communities, customers and businesses to ensure a wide range of views are reflected in our consultation, whilst ensuring everyone can find out more information about the plans.”