The multi-million upgrade project, due to commence next year, comes after a water contamination incident in March 2023, reports Marco Marcelline
Thames Water is to carry out a £400million upgrade of Coppermills Water Treatment Works in Walthamstow following a serious contamination incident in 2023.
The water company said the work, which includes the replacement of Coppermill’s 1960s pumping station, will begin in spring 2026 and finish in summer 2032.
In a press release shared with the Echo, Thames Water adds the “significant” upgrade will “enhance the site’s efficiency, reliability and ability to serve London’s growing population”.
In addition to replacing the pumping station, Thames Water is set to build a new electricity substation, implement a new slow sand filter recirculation system, and install new pipes, chambers and control structures both above and below ground. These efforts will reportedly make it easier for the company to get the site back in operation in case there are issues with water quality.
Coppermills has been highlighted as a site of critical concern; last summer civil servants told government ministers that the state of the treatment centre was “particularly alarming”.
It serves up to three million customers and is regarded as one of the UK’s most important pieces of infrastructure.
The multi-million cash injection comes after the company recently recorded “single points of failure” at the Walthamstow centre, which, if not dealt with, could result in “a prolonged water supply interruption” to hundreds of thousands of customers.
In its business plan for 2025-2030, Thames Water adds that such an interruption would mean its customers could be without water for a “significant period of time”.
These points of failures significantly raise the risk of contamination to the water supply. Areas of specific concern are the centre’s high lift pumping station, failure of the slow sand filtration process, and drainage issues in the contact tank.
The Echo understands that there was a microbiological incident in March 2023 caused by untreated water entering the contact tank. The water contained cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite that can cause a potentially dangerous illness called cryptosporidiosis. The parasite thrives in the intestines of infected humans and animals and is passed out in their faeces.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, cryptosporidiosis symptoms include severe watery diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, nausea, fever, and loss of appetite. It can last for around two weeks and anyone can catch it although it is particularly common in children between the ages of one and five.
In response to the contamination incident, the Drinking Water Inspectorate issued Coppermills Treatment Centre with a notice enforcing it to continuously sample its water for cryptosporidium. The notice additionally mentions the centre must check for any “animal ingress” into any exposed open-air treatment stages, and carry out “appropriate analysis and disposal of any animal carcasses”.
Mark Gelinski, senior project manager at Thames Water said: “Our purpose is to deliver life’s essential service, so our customers, communities and the environment can thrive. As custodians of important infrastructure, we need to ensure that our sites are resilient to the pressures of London’s growing population and climate change.
“Upgrading and investing in our assets is essential to this and this project will mean improved water security for Londoners as we continue to deliver a secure supply of high-quality drinking water for customers across the capital.”
Thames Water’s ageing infrastructure has been blamed for an increase in pollution incidents in recent years; according to the Guardian there were 350 such incidents in 2023, compared with 331 in 2022.
A multi-million pound upgrade is also planned for Hampton Water Treatment Works. Both upgrades will be carried out by ACCIONA, which describes itself as a “global leader in providing regenerative solutions for a decarbonized economy”.
Thames Water is due to submit a planning request for the works to Waltham Forest Council before the summer.
Back in 2014, Thames Water was fined £300,000, with £61,000 costs, after a vehicle reversed into 60-year-old Coppermills Treatment Centre worker Raymond Holmes, 60, in 2010.
Find out more about the planned works here
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