Richard Tracey, of the London Assembly hopes so
London Assembly member, Richard Tracey, will today (Wednesday) urge Boris Johnson to ensure that investment in water treatment works goes ahead to stop the dumping of raw sewage in the Thames.
Speaking at Mayor’s Question Time at City Hall, Mr Tracey, the Conservative member for Merton and Wandsworth will say that the 900,000 tonne discharge on July 7 was only one of many and that it is totally unacceptable.
He will say:
“I think millions of Londoners will be appalled to learn that huge quantities of sewage are poured into the River Thames each year.
“We know why this is happening: investment to expand the water treatment works at Mogden has been delayed, which means that when there is a storm surge the current infrastructure is unable to cope and consequently the river is used as an overflow sewer.
“This is a situation that cannot stand. Many people use the river for rowing, canoeing, sailing and even swimming. Huge efforts have been made in the last half-century to improve the Thames’ cleanliness, so it’s vital that this investment goes ahead to ensure the standards that people believe are already in place are maintained.
“What Londoners want to know from their Mayor is that he is using his influence to ensure that Thames Water maintains its investment programme so that this horrible situation becomes a thing of the past.”