Lib Dems call on Thames Water to invest more in pipeline replacement

11.54.40am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 17th Jul 2006

A burst main on Vassall Road

London Liberal Democrats have called on Thames Water to invest more of their profits in replacing London's antiquated pipelines.

Water leakage from pipelines such as this burst main on Vassall Road, which local Lib Dem campaigner Adeline Aina helped get fixed, is a major factor in the capital's current water shortage.

'Thames Water should be using more of their huge profits to speed up their current pipe replacement programme. Clearly something radical must be done to reinvest some of that money to save London's dwindling water supply,' said Mike Tuffrey, the Liberal Democrats' Environment Spokesman in the London Assembly.

'Our calculations show that if Thames Water doubled their efforts, they could secure enough water for over a million people by 2008, saving a massive 76 Olympic-sized swimming pools a day.

'It is fundamentally wrong that customers should be faced with the bill for this essential pipe replacement work when Thames Water make such huge profits.'