THAMES WATER REVEALS LEAP IN POLLUTION INCIDENTS – Supplier also sees a rise in its huge debt pile

Thames Water has revealed an 18% rise in pollution incidents during the first half of its financial year along with a rise in its huge debt pile.

The country’s largest household supplier reported 257 category one – the most serious – to category 3 pollutions over the six months to the end of September.

It said that action to prevent these incidents was a core part of a three-year action plan to improve customer service that had been approved by its board.

Thames, which is looking to raise bills to help pay for much-needed investment in its ageing infrastructure, said: “Our turnaround plan addresses and mitigates the major drivers of pollutions across our wastewater network and sewage treatment works, including more proactive network cleaning and monitoring, and better prioritised reactive responses.

UK water firms have faced a backlash following a spate of sewage discharges.

In the case of Thames, it was fined more than £3m in the summer over an incident that saw human waste flow into rivers for more than six hours unnoticed.

Performance at Thames has been under particular scrutiny.