30 March 2007
The Consumer Council for Water has said it has 'serious concerns' about a £2bn construction project to overhaul London's Victorian water and sewage system, which was approved by the government last week.
Under the plans, a 30km tunnel will be built between west and east London to intercept sewage and rain water that currently runs into the Thames and instead direct it to a treatment plant in East London. As water supplies and sewage are run by the private sector, the costs will have to be met by consumers.
David Bland, chair of the CCW Thames region, said: 'Nobody would dispute that sewage systems must meet decent environmental standards… But this project far outweighs consumers' willingness to pay for improvements.
'The costs will be met wholly through increases in consumers' bills, and will be far more than most are willing or expecting to pay. For some… the resulting price rises will be simply unaffordable.'
Bland said the tunnel would add 'just under £40' to average water bills and that customers already faced price increases from drought prevention measures.
But a spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs defended the decision. 'The tunnel was necessary to reduce the 52 million cubic metres of sewage and waste water which is spilt into the Thames each year – the equivalent of 20,800 Olympic swimming pools,' she said, adding: 'We have a privatised water industry. It is not appropriate for us to subsidise private companies.'
Ofwat, the regulator, will be responsible for monitoring costs and ensuring the project is completed efficiently.
PFmar2007
