Thames Water boss says leakage targets 'not realistic'
Thames Water CEO Chris Weston has stated that the company's regulatory targets for leakage and pollution are unrealistic and unachievable. The utility provider is currently struggling with significant debt and potential temporary nationalization.
Why it matters
As the UK's largest water company, Thames Water's financial and operational stability is critical to public health and infrastructure, highlighting the tension between regulatory oversight and corporate viability.
Figure caption, Watch: Simon Jack presses Thames Water boss on pollution targets
The boss of Thames Water has claimed targets the company has been set over things like leakages are "not realistic".
Thames has been criticised for its performance in recent years following a series of sewage discharges and leaks, and last year was fined a record £122.7m by regulator Ofwat, most of which was for breaching sewage spills rules.
Chris Weston said Thames wanted "to do better" but said some of its targets were not achievable.
Ofwat said company targets were "intended to be ambitious", while an environmental group said sewage pollution should not be accepted as inevitable.
Thames, which has struggled for years under billions of pounds of debt, faces being put in a form of temporary nationalisation known as a special administration regime.
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