Less than four years since we started putting pressure on Thames Water to publish real-time sewer spill alerts they have agreed to do it by the end of 2022. Thank you to everyone that demanded action and pushed for greater accountability! Thank you to our lawyers Leigh Day too.
We will give them this time, but the clock is ticking. If they have not met their deadline we will start legal action.

Sign up below and hear our latest news, and be on standby to stand up for the Capital’s rivers!




Please agree to signing up as a river defender with London Waterkeeper:
You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.



We have a right to know the health of our rivers. Part of this is being told when they are polluted. Currently very little of this information is publicly available. Rivers are used by people for rowing, kayaking, paddle boarding and swimming but they don’t know when they risk coming into contact with sewage. 

Hogsmiill Sewage Works
Hogsmill Sewage Works discharging

London Waterkeeper wants people to be told when sewage works and Combined Sewer Overflows discharge to rivers across the region, from the Cotswolds to the Capital. 

Thames Water is subject to the Environmental Information Regulations (2004). This law says that bodies like Thames Water shall make the environmental information it holds progressively available to the public by electronic means which are easily accessible and organise the information with a view to its active and systematic dissemination.

When we’re told how often sewers overflow we’ll know the true state of the river. If we have easily accessible information we will be able to see where greater investment is needed to protect the river..