Millions of Londoners face a hosepipe ban from Thursday as Thames Water – fighting for survival against nationalisation – pleaded with customers to stop using hoses immediately. The UK’s biggest water supplier said demand is 10% above normal in the Thames Valley and 7% in London, triggered by three heatwaves in three months and the driest spring on record. From 0:01am on July 23, customers cannot use hosepipes for gardens, cars, paddling pools or hot tubs, with fines of up to £1,000 for those who flout the rules. “We would not be taking this step unless it was necessary to protect water supplies for everyone and the environment,” said Nevil Muncaster, Thames Water’s director of strategic water resources.
The ban comes as the company’s lenders scramble to prevent the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, from taking the debt-laden firm into public ownership. London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of 100 institutional investors holding £17bn of Thames Water’s £21bn debt, has offered the government a “golden share” – giving ministers veto power over major decisions and hostile takeovers – in a last-ditch attempt to head off nationalisation. The creditors sweetened an earlier £10bn rescue package, which the previous government rejected as “weak” and bad for consumers, with “hundreds of millions” in extra cash. They also pledged not to take dividends for a decade and to expand the social tariff.
“Thames Water imposes hosepipe ban on 10m customers as lenders offer 'golden share' to stop nationalisation by Andy Burnham.”
But the new Labour government, led by Burnham – who in his first speech called for “greater public control” of life’s essentials – is not convinced. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds wrote to Ofwat saying she was “not convinced” the L&VW proposal was good enough. The lenders are now preparing a legal challenge: sources told the BBC that if the firm is nationalised, they would pursue payment in full of the outstanding debt, leaving taxpayers with a multi-billion-pound bill. A government spokesperson said Thames “remains financially stable, but we stand ready for all eventualities, including applying for a Special Administration Regime if that were to become necessary”.
Thames Water, which supplies 16 million customers across London and the south, warned it could run out of cash by November. If it collapses, households will still receive water and sewerage services. The company was already hit with a record £122.7m fine last year for pollution breaches. With 24 million homes now under hosepipe bans nationwide, and a new prime minister vowing to bring water under public control, the fate of Britain’s biggest water company hangs in the balance.