Thames21’s response to Mayor London’s plan to revitalise London’s rivers

John Bryden, Head of Improving Rivers at Thames21 said: “We’re delighted to see today’s announcement by the Mayor of London of investment to revitalise the health of London’s rivers.

“Bringing together funding from all sectors to deliver partnership solutions at scale is critical to restoring the health of London’s rivers for people and wildlife.

“It is fantastic to see the Mayor of London has committed £7.15 million to addressing road run-off pollution. Thames21, with partners, produced the ‘Road Pollution Solutions Tool’, which highlights the roads which contribute the greatest pollution in London and highlights what nature-based solutions can be used to treat the pollution. We hope to see this tool in use to guide investment.

“£7.5 million is a great start to tackling road runoff pollution but significantly greater investment will be needed to prevent this form of pollution damaging river health.

“The inclusion of £1.8 billion over 5 years from Thames Water to fix 26 sewage overflows on the Roding, Wandle, Lea and Brent is also great news. However, it’s critical the overflows which are causing the most damage to river health are fixed first. We ask Thames Water to share the evidence it has used to make the decision to focus on these 26 sewage overflows, and we would like to see solutions delivered at pace.”

Please view full Mayor of London’s announcement here: https://tinyurl.com/4ve5swsn

 

Image copyright: Hammersmith Bridge – ©Jill Mead