Thames Water has apologised but is refusing a request from Surrey councillors to make a financial acknowledgement to the community by reducing bills for 11,000 people.
The crisis in treatment capacity began last February when Hogsmill, one of the main Thames Water treatment works, broke down, forcing staff to move thousands of cubic metres of raw sewage at speed and deposit the contents into tanks in Camberley, 20 miles away, because there was no other storage capacity across its whole estate. Storage tanks at Woking were already full from a previous crisis.
Thames Water has told councillors in Surrey it had no choice. Either it moved the sewage to storage tanks in Camberley, emptied it into rivers causing massive pollution, or left it in tankers on the roadside which could have exploded.
Evidence of the crisis comes as MPs recalled the company's chief executive officer to answer questions yesterday on its financial situation.
Auditors have warned the parent company of Thames Water it could run out of money by April if shareholders do not inject more cash.
This story is from the December 13, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 13, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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