Britain's only desalination plant still out of action as hosepipe ban fears return

Thames Water now lacks key chemicals needed properly run the facility

Britain's only water desalination plant is to remain out of action until July at the earliest owing to delays to critical supplies, even as dry weather stokes fears of hosepipe bans.

The £250m Thames Water facility at Beckton, east London, was switched off last year for maintenance as record-breaking temperatures parched the country.

There are fears of a repeat this year. London has not seen rain in more than three weeks and the Met Office issued its first hot weather warning of the year this week.

Now Thames Water has revealed that although the maintenance work has now been completed it has since faced problems obtaining carbon dioxide, which is needed for a process where minerals are restored to the water after the removal of sea salt.

The desalination plant was opened as a drought contingency in 2010 and can supply drinking water to 400,000 homes in the capital at times of crisis.

Nevil Muncaster, Thames Water's strategic resources and London operations director, blamed the additional holdup on turmoil in Europe's fertiliser industry, with factories forced to cut back production after the Ukraine war sent energy prices soaring.

Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of the fertiliser production process, with the gas also used to add fizz to beer and soft drinks, stun pigs in slaughterhouses, and by hospitals for surgical procedures.

Mr Muncaster said Thames Water had found a new supplier and, if all goes to plan, the company aims to have the Beckton plant back online in July.

He said: "We have completed that maintenance now it's ready to go back into supply.

"We were hoping to have it in by now, but we’ve actually been hit by an issue with the supply chain on carbon dioxide.

"We’ve now got new suppliers, we are refilling our reserves internally and we expect everything to be back in the next week or two, at which point we will just recommission the plant and bring it into supply.

"If supplies come through, we’re expected to be in supply by July, certainly."

It comes as water companies and the Government are bracing for another hot summer, with the Met Office currently predicting above-average temperatures and only near-average rainfall.

Mr Muncaster insisted that Thames Water would not need to resort to hosepipe bans again if there was a repeat of last year's sweltering temperatures, based on current projections.

The company's reservoirs in London and Oxfordshire are also near-full.

It comes as separately, people across England are refusing to pay their wastewater bills because of anger over sewage pollution, saying they should not pay for a service they do not receive.

Some have said they are prepared to go to court, but do not believe the water companies will take legal action.

Angler Matt Marlow, from Stockport, Greater Manchester. said he stopped paying his water bill entirely, to United Utilities, about six months ago, but is considering setting up a standing order of £1 "for their shareholders".

Mr Marlow said United Utilities tried sending him £75 after he complained about sewage discharges, which he described as "hush money".

United Utilities said the £75 compensation was not linked to his complaint but a delay in responding to him.

Customers of Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water have also said they are withholding payment of their wastewater bills while Julie Wassmer, a customer of Southern Water in Kent, has been refusing to pay since 2021.

South West Water said it does not comment on individual customers but that they are free to contact the company for discussion.

Yorkshire Water said it has no records of customers refusing to pay bills.

Pennon Group, which owns South West Water, said on Thursday it will invest £750 million over the next two years in building reservoirs, reducing storm overflows and increasing renewable energy use.

Several water company chief executives, including at South West Water, Yorkshire Water and Thames Water, have offered to give up their bonuses this year in response to public anger over sewage.