‘Forever chemicals’ surge during pilot of Thames Water plan to combat drought

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Rocks exposed on the River Thames by Teddington Lock, London, on 8 August as drought conditions continue. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters View image in fullscreen Rocks exposed on the River Thames by Teddington Lock, London, on 8 August as drought conditions continue. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters Water ‘Forever chemicals’ surge during pilot of Thames Water plan to combat drought Exclusive: utility company wants to draw off tens of millions of litres of water a day from Thames and replace it with treated effluent

Prefer the Guardian on Google Levels of a toxic “forever chemical” rose to 13 times the legal limit during Thames Water pilots for a controversial multimillion pound water recycling scheme that will pump millions of litres of treated sewage into the River Thames during drought.

The data from the pilots is in stark contrast to public comments from Thames Water that their water recycling project in south-west London will not harm the riverine environment.

In technical notes in the company’s files for the project, seen by the Guardian, the results from two pilots reveal the recycling system rapidly and significantly increased levels of a particularly toxic type of Pfas chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate (Pfos), a suspected carcinogen – breaching the legal limits by as much as 13 times.

As standard wastewater treatment plants are not designed to filter or destroy them, treated and untreated sewage contains Pfas chemicals (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). They are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment, and the detrimental impact on rivers has been found to be widespread. New figures show every English water body is polluted with toxic chemicals. They are also considered a threat to human health.