24 July 2008

Thames Water's Chief Executive Officer David Owens explains why our programme of mains replacement is so important for London.

"No-one knows better than I do how much frustration road works cause to London's residents, businesses, commuters and shoppers.

Londoners have a right to understand what we are doing, and why.

Replacing London's mains

Everyone agrees that the levels of leakage in London are unacceptable. That is why we are replacing ancient water mains, working in around 580 sites at any one time.

This work is succeeding and leakage is coming down by millions of gallons each year.

But even at this rate of progress it will take until 2035 before almost all of the capital's 10,000 miles of water mains have been replaced.

We are also installing many new pipes and tanks to relieve the misery of sewer flooding that has blighted lives and businesses for far too long.

Working on this scale in an already congested major city inevitably causes disruption - which I greatly regret.

But this is essential work and will bring long-term benefits.

Managing our work

Apart from emergency work, we plan all of this work carefully and agree it in advance with local councils and Transport for London, making allowance for whatever else is going on in the area, such as the Notting Hill Carnival.

We hold drop-in sessions to listen to local views and answer questions.

We publish details on our website and we compensate businesses if they prove that they have suffered a significant loss of trade.

We also write to residents and businesses. But I know that they are not the only people interested in what's going on.

Mayor Johnson has talked about our "enigmatic holes". So in future, every Thames Water site other than emergency work will show details of what we are doing, and why, how long it will take, and where to find out more.

There may be times if you're passing one of our sites when you won't see anyone working there. That's because there are occassions when no one is needed to be on site, for example, when a new water main is being tested for water pressure and quality. When no-one is needed on site, we will have signs on the surrounding fencing explaining what is taking place and why no workmen are present.

Producing results

I've been Chief Executive of Thames Water since December 2006. Since then, we have turned things round, both operationally and financially.

Londoners now have the best drinking water in the country.

Leakage has been an embarrassment for years, but we're now hitting our targets for getting it down.

Most people prefer not to think about sewage, but the performance of our treatment works is at 100% for the first time ever, and we're using it to generate 14% of our total needs for energy.

Overall, we've moved from the bottom of the Ofwat rankings to close to the top. And I'm firmly focussed on getting to number one.

Nevertheless, I realise that our streetworks will still be the number one issue for many Londoners.

But getting in and out quickly and efficiently is how we make a profit.

So neither we nor our contractors have any incentive to take longer than necessary to get the job done.

We can't eliminate congestion, but I want to assure everyone that we're constantly looking at ways to work smarter, as well as faster."

David Owens
Chief Executive