Councils must foot bill in London water dispute, says regulator

The row between London councils and Thames Water took another twist this week when the water regulator was drawn into the fray.

Ofwat said local authorities should foot the bill for potential water shortages in high-rise blocks resulting from a programme to cut pressure (HT 27 August, page 12).

The Association of London Government believes the costs could run to £90m and is now calling for Ofwat to adjudicate in the long-running dispute.

The argument centres around who should pay for the installation of the new pumps needed to ensure the water supply of up to 300,000 residents is not cut to what the ALG warns could be a “trickle”.

Thames Water, which says costs won’t rise to £90m, needs to reduce water pressure to deal with leakages across London.

An Ofwat spokesman said: “Thames Water is legally required to ensure that the minimum level of water pressure is met, and this means people living in two- to three-storey buildings shouldn’t have any problems.

It’s totally unreasonable for Thames Water to pass on multimillion-pound costs when it makes so much itself

Cllr Stephen Cowan, ALG housing panel

“But people living in high-rise blocks are likely to need new pumps to ensure the water reaches them. In blocks owned by local authorities, this could be very costly,” he said.

Areas likely to be badly affected include Hackney and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Councillor Stephen Cowan, deputy chair of the ALG’s housing panel and head of the cross-party ALG group involved in discussions with Thames Water, said: “It is totally unreasonable of Thames Water to expect boroughs to fund the multimillion-pound costs arising from its programme, particularly in light of the money it makes.”

But a spokesman for Thames Water said: “We are confident that in the areas where we are making changes, the vast majority of tenants won’t notice because the change to pressure will be so slight. And any action could still be two years away.”