Sarh Olney, MP for Richmond Park, has expressed her anger at Thames Water for failing to consult residents in Ham and Richmond on its controversial Direct River Abstraction (DRA) Scheme to be built in Ham.

Thames Water has just launched its new consultation on the scheme and will be holding four events to inform residents.

Three of these events will take place on the north side of the river in Twickenham and one in Kingston but none will be held in the area where the majority of the construction is likely to take place.

Olney said: "The vast majority of the work Thames Water is planning will take place in Ham. It's their parks, roads, and community that would be torn up if the company gets its way, but Thames Water aren't planning to hold a single event in the area.

"They need to apologise to residents and set up another event on the south side of the river immediately.

"The Teddington DRA could mean years of roadworks, the decimation of a nature reserve, and have untold effects on the river. Local people must be able to respond. They shouldn't have to travel across the river or to another borough to tell the company what they think."

A diagram of the sceme. (Photo Credit: Thames Water).

The controversial scheme would see water abstracted from the river upstream of Teddington Weir and transferred along a section of a new connecting pipeline to an existing underground tunnel to our reservoirs to become drinking water.

The abstracted water would be replaced with treated wastewater from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works in Isleworth and transferred to the river along a new underground pipeline to an outfall structure upstream of Teddington Weir.

The scheme would only be used during periods of prolonged dry weather, typically between late summer and late autumn, on an intermittent basis.

A petition against the scheme has reached over 26,000 signatures.

The public consultation will run from 17 October 2023 to 11.59pm on 11 December 2023.

You can take part online or email [email protected].

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We're keen to listen and respond to questions raised by the local community, whilst ensuring everyone can find out more information about the plans. That's why we're hosting several community information events across the local area throughout November.

"To ensure we can safely accommodate the number of expected attendees we opted for a larger venue, with the nearest suitable site situated at the YMCA Hawker Centre, on Lower Ham Road.

"The event will take place on Monday 20 November between 2pm and 8pm and we encourage residents of Ham and Petersham to sign-up.

"In addition, there are three other events taking place across Teddington and Twickenham. For those who can't make it, they can find out more by visiting our website: www.thames-sro.co.uk or by reaching out to our dedicated community engagement team via [email protected]."