Emily goes leak hunting

10th March 2006

Emily Thornberry MP has been out in the middle of the night hunting leaks with a Thames Water detection team.

Emily, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, donned a luminous Thames Water jacket and wellies and ventured through the streets of Islington using a listening stick and ground microphone to find leaks.

Emily said:

“We managed to find a leak really quickly which shows how much of a problem leaks are in Islington. We need to have a plan for stopping these leaks because water is a precious resource which is becoming more scarce every day”

Over a third of London’s pipes are over 150 years old, and over half are over 100 years old.  The soil in Islington is made from heavy clay and this reacts with the cast iron pipes to increase the chance of leaks. 

Emily has been campaigning hard for Thames water to reduce the number of leaks in Islington. Last month she demanded that a RWE Thames Water boss explain what he was doing to stop the massive water leakages in Islington. She cross-examined Richard Aylard (Director of External Affairs and Environment at RWE Thames) at her powerful Environment Select Committee.  

Emily pointed out to Richard Aylard that he could hardly expect her constituents to take saving water seriously when water leaks in Islington are so commonplace. She also demanded to know just how much Islington water was lost in leaks.  Emily asked:

‘It is very easy for people to say that we should be persuading the public to use less water… but we are wading through great puddles of it,… when we are constantly having leaks, and it really seems like Thames Water is not taking it seriously, it is very difficult for us to persuade the public that water is precious.  …Can I just say, I am the MP for Islington South so you know just why I feel quite so strongly about this. What proportion of Islington water, therefore, is being lost through leakage?’

Under sustained questioning from Emily, Richard Aylard revealed that a third of Islington water was being lost in leaks, saying:  ‘It is probably about a third’.

Pressed further by Emily, he promised that RWE Thames Water is trying to improve the situation. He said:

‘We do take reducing leakage very seriously indeed.  It is our absolute top corporate priority bar anything else we do as a company. We are replacing 850 miles of mains at a cost of £540 million in the next four years.  We are spending £90 million a year on finding and fixing leaks.  We have had our efforts on leakage independently audited to make sure we are doing everything we possibly can.  We have hundreds of people, literally, working on leakage all the time.  Sometimes you will see a surface leak which does not get attended to immediately but that is because somebody has been there, they have assessed there is no damage to property and the amount of water is smaller than leaks being dealt with somewhere else.’

Afterwards Emily said

‘Less that 1% of the Earth’s water is usable, with over 99% being salt water or locked up in glaciers and ice caps! Fresh drinking water is precious and Thames should take a lead and not allow it to be wasted. If any of my constituents learn of any water leaks, could they get in touch and I’ll be onto Thames in a flash.’

Population growth means that in 20 years time Thames Water will need to serve a million more customers.

Smaller household size means that some efficiency that is gained by sharing water (e.g. washing up, cooking and washing) will be lost.
More use of washing up machines, dishwashers and power showers mean that demand is rising.

Climate Change:  Scientists predict that the temperature in the UK will rise significantly by the year 2030. Already, the Environment Agency has identified the Thames Valley region as having the lowest amount of water available per person in the UK, so we all need to make sure we are using it wisely
Editors Notes:

Photo is of Emily Thornberry MP with a ground microphone which shows that they found a leak!