industry founded 1989 headquarters reading berkshire united kingdom area served united kingdom but principally south england key people sir peter mason kbe chairman ; steve robertson ceo ; stuart siddall cfo ; richard aylard cvo ; products drinking water recycled wastewater biosolid fertilisers recovered phosphates renewable energy production output 2.6 gl day drinking 4.4 gl day recycled services water supply sewage treatment revenue 2.047 billion 2015 16 2.027 billion 2014 15 operating income 335.8 million 2014 15 259.3 million 2013 14 number of employees 5 000 staff plus many contractors parent kemble water holdings ltd website www.thameswater.co.uk thames water s headquarters building at clearwater court vastern road reading rg1 8db water pumping station at walton on thames water pumping station at littleton sewage treatment works at crossness chalk aquifer borehole under the north downs at albury thames water van in old style silver livery at kentwood hill tilehurst thames water utilities ltd known as thames water is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of greater london the thames valley surrey gloucestershire wiltshire kent and some other areas of the united kingdom . thames water is the uk s largest water and wastewater services company 1 and supplies 2.6 gigalitres of drinking water per day and treats 4.4 gigalitres of wastewater per day . thames water s 15 million customers comprise 27 % of the uk population . 2 3 thames water is responsible for a range of water management infrastructure projects including the thames water ring main around london ; the lee tunnel ; 4 europe s largest wastewater treatment works 5 and the uk s first large scale desalination plant both at beckton . thames water awarded bazalgette tunnel ltd the contract to build the 4.2 billion london tideway tunnel 6 7 infrastructure proposals by thames water include the proposed reservoir at abingdon oxfordshire which would be the largest enclosed or bunded reservoir in the uk . 8 thames water is regulated under the water industry act 1991 and is owned by kemble water holdings ltd a consortium formed in late 2006 by australian based macquarie group s european infrastructure funds specifically for the purpose of purchasing thames water . other large shareholders in recent years include bt pension scheme 13 % 9 the abu dhabi investment authority 9.9 % 10 and the china investment corporation 8.7 % . 11 the name of the company reflects its role providing water to the drainage basin of the river thames and not the source of its water which is taken from a range of rivers and boreholes . contents 1 history 2 performance 2.1 health and safety 2.2 finance 2.3 leakage 2.4 pollution 2.4.1 the thames tideway 2.4.2 other incidents 2.5 local planning 2.6 flooding 3 references 4 external links history edit thames water can trace its history back to numerous earlier companies and individuals stretching back to the early 17th century 1600s 1610s edmund colthurst hugh myddelton and later sir john backhouse were the driving forces behind the new river company and the new river which routed water from hertfordshire to new river head in islington and provided an additional source of drinking water to london . 1850s 1860s dr john snow and william farr s identification of the 1854 broad street cholera outbreak provided a stimulus to the better treatment of sewage . the thames conservancy was established in 1857 with unified control over water supply drainage and navigation . the great stink occurred in 1858 and focussed government and public opinion on cleaning up the thames . joseph bazalgette s remediation of the great stink provided the company with much of london s present victorian sewerage infrastructure and several listed buildings within its portfolio of sites . 1973 the thames water authority was founded under the terms of the water act 1973 and took over the following water supply utilities and catchment area management bodies 12 cotswold water board croydon corporation epsom and ewell corporation the lee conservancy metropolitan water board responsible for water supply in london mid southern water company middle thames water board oxfordshire and district water board south west suburban water company swindon corporation thames conservancy responsible for managing the non tidal river thames powers taken until 1989 thames valley water board watford corporation west surrey water board 1989 responsibility for navigation regulatory river and channels management was transferred to the national rivers authority and later became part of the environment agency . 13 the remainder of thames water authority was privatised as thames water utilities limited . the company became listed on the london stock exchange and was a constituent of the ftse 100 index . 1995 following international expansion thames water became the world s third largest water company 14 2001 thames water plc was acquired by the german utility company rwe . 15 as well as its british operations it continued as an international water treatment consultancy and acquired further overseas operations . 2006 on 17 october 2006 following several years of criticism about failed leakage targets in the uk rwe announced it would sell thames water for 8 billion to kemble water holdings ltd a consortium led by the australian macquarie group . 16 in december 2006 the sale of thames water s british operation went ahead with rwe keeping the overseas operations . 17 2007 under the new ownership the company re focused its efforts on improving its operational performance and announced the largest ever capital investment programme 1 billion p.a. of any uk water company . 18 2012 some of the company s stock was acquired by the bt pension scheme 13 % the abu dhabi investment authority 9.9 % and the china investment corporation 8.7 % . thames water was a tier three sponsor of the 2012 summer olympics in london . 19 2017 under the government s open water programme and in common with all water and sewerage companies 20 thames water must provide entirely separate retail and wholesale operations for its commercial customers working through a central market operator . performance edit every day thames water abstracts extracts treats and supplies 2.6 gigalitres 2.6 109 litres of potable tap water from 100 water treatment works via 288 clean water pumping stations through 31 100 km 19 300 mi of managed water mains to 9 million customers 3.6 million properties across london and the thames valley . 21 it maintains 30 raw water reservoirs and 235 underground service reservoirs . 2 as well as direct customers thames water supplies bulk clean water to some inset companies . other inset companies maintain their own independent means of supply . likewise it daily removes treats and disposes 4.4 gigalitres 4.4 109 litres of wastewater from 15 million customers 5.1 million properties using 2530 sewage pumping stations through 109 400 km 68 000 mi of managed sewerage mains to 348 sewage treatment works across an area of 13 000 km2 5 000 sq mi of south england . 21 on 1 october 2011 it adopted 40 000 km 25 000 mi an additional 60 % of private sewers and lateral drains to add to its then stock of 68 000 km 42 000 mi giving a new network of 108 000 km 67 000 mi . by 2015 this figure had grown to 109 400 km 68 000 mi managed sewerage mains . before 1 october 2016 it is obliged to adopt 5 000 private sewage pumping stations to add to its current stock of 2530 managed sewage pumping stations 2 22 again thames water treats and disposes bulk sewage on behalf of some inset companies . thames water produces biosolid fertiliser as a by product from the waste treatment and supplies this to local farms . it also recovers phosphates an increasingly important source of a dwindling naturally occurring mineral . as of 2013 update it recovered approximately 18 mw 156 gwh per annum or 12.5 % of its total energy requirements from renewable electricity generated from biogas collected from the sewage . further biogas capacity the burning of fatbergs removed from london s sewers and substantial solar farms have enabled the company to announce a 2015 16 target of generating 36mw 318 gwh per annum or 20 % of its total energy requirements from renewable sources 2 23 24 25 a 2020 target of self generating 33 % of electricity needs 2 and a commitment to 100 % renewable energy eventually . 2 health and safety edit in december 2014 thames water pleaded guilty to a charge under the health and safety at work etc. act 1974 after the death at work of one its workers . they were fined 300 000 with 61 000 prosecution costs . the incident occurred at their coppermill water treatment works in walthamstow london e17 in april 2010 when an excavator reversed over and killed the worker in a slow sand filter . the prosecution followed an investigation by the health and safety executive . 26 finance edit as of 2014 update thames water provides the second cheapest residential water and sewerage charges of all the combined water and sewerage companies . 27 since 2007 it has made capital investments at least 1 billion p.a. in its infrastructure the largest such annual investment within the uk water industry . in 2015 2016 this figure was 1.2 billion . 2 this level of investment has allowed the company to defer but not avoid substantial portions of its corporation tax liability in line with uk tax law . 28 29 leakage edit 2001 06 rwe s ownership thames water was repeatedly criticised for the amount of water that leaked from its pipes by the industry regulator ofwat and was fined for this . in may 2006 the leakage was nearly 900 megalitres per day ml day and in june that year thames water missed its target for leakage reduction for the third year in a row . 30 the consumer council for water a customers group accused thames water for continuing to miss their targets for the past five years . in july 2006 instead of a fine which would have gone to the exchequer the company was required to spend an extra 150 million on repairs . 31 2007 date kemble s ownership thames water has hit its ofwat agreed annual leakage reduction target for the past ten years running 2006 to 2016 . 2 in 2006 07 the company stated that it had reduced its daily loss through leaks by 120 ml day to an average of 695 ml day . 32 for 2009 10 ofwat reported leakage was 668.9 ml day . 33 in its price control determination for the period 2010 to 2015 ofwat did not allow the funds needed to finance a significant further reduction in leakage and used the assumption that leakage would be 674 ml day in 2010 11 and 673 ml day from 2011 to 2012 . 34 in 2011 12 actual leakage was 637 ml day ; in 2012 13 646 ml day ; in 2013 14 644 ml day ; in 2014 2015 654 ml day ; in 2015 2016 642 ml day 2 the company has achieved these reductions by better pressure management of known problem sectors of its older water network replacing 2 736 km 1 700 mi of worn out victorian pipes mainly under london the recent successes in meeting leakage targets have mitigated the earlier failures to meet targets . as a result and in spite of a larger distribution network thames water now leaks slightly less water than at privatisation in 1989 having reduced leakage from its 31 100 km 19 300 mi network of water pipes by more than a third since its 2004 peak to its current lowest ever level . 35 as of 2013 update and with an older network profile thames water leaked 25.8 % 36 of supply slightly less than severn trent at