How might Andy Burnham tackle Thames Water debacle?

21 October 2026 at 02:00

A look at some of the options after PM is urged to consider radical alternatives to deal with stricken company

Andy Burnham has told officials to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company. Here are some ideas the prime minister is being urged to consider.

This Norwegian village is one of the fastest-warming places on Earth. How can its people save it?

The Guardian

By: Karen McVeigh in Longyearbyen · Norway

21 October 2026 at 02:00

As glaciers melt and permafrost thaws, Longyearbyen, on the remote Arctic islands of Svalbard, faces climate-induced problems from tap water to housebuilding to landslides

• Heavy metals make Norwegian village’s tap water toxic

On a rugged mountain plateau of snow-dusted rocks, in the remote archipelago of Svalbard, a glaciologist, Andy Hodson, points out the “ears” of ice, white against the rock, that gave Foxfonna glacier its name, after the arctic fox.

The small glacier, on a mountain 8 miles (15km) outside the Norwegian village of Longyearbyen, is a popular summer hike for tourists who come here seeking the Arctic experience.

Firefighters voice growing concerns over water supplies to tackle UK wildfires

The Guardian

By: Pippa Neill Environment reporter

21 October 2026 at 00:00

During a summer fire that destroyed homes in Stourbridge, low pressure meant filling a water carrier took 40 minutes

Concerns have been raised about how drought affects the UK’s ability to cope with wildfires after MPs were told firefighters struggled for water supplies during this year’s record summer.

The government has been urged to set out water companies’ statutory responsibilities during major fire incidents to improve the country’s preparedness for the years ahead.

Thames Water creditors secure former Labour minister to drive rescue deal

The Guardian

By: Julia Kollewe

20 October 2026 at 06:49

Stricken UK water supplier lines up John Hutton as independent chair designate if takeover goes ahead

The group of Thames Water creditors pursuing a £10bn rescue deal for Britain’s largest water supplier has lined up a former senior Labour minister to chair the company, as it tries to win over the government.

The creditor consortium, called London & Valley Water, said on Tuesday that Lord John Hutton had been selected as independent chair designate of the Thames Water board, if the consortium’s deal is approved.

‘For Panama, it is life or death’: how drought is choking the canal that feeds a nation

The Guardian

By: Jessica Rawnsley in Panama

20 October 2026 at 06:00

Failed rains and a dire El Niño threaten the waterway that sustains the country, with farmers selling cattle to survive

The cattle should be ambling, grazing contentedly, through Robert Delgado’s fields. Instead, the animals slump in the shade, tongues lolling, in futile attempts to avoid the blistering heat. Soon it will matter little whether their appetite returns, for there will be no grass left to graze.

In Azuero, an agricultural region in Panama’s Arco Seco (Dry Arc), the summer is generally relentless and unforgiving. But this year, the crucial rainy season that precedes it – typically from May to December – has brought little rain to parched fields. The watering holes, streams and rivers that farmers rely on have not been replenished, and pastures – the vital source of animal feed during the dry months – have not regenerated themselves.

Burnham urges officials to come up with more radical options for Thames Water

The Guardian

By: Kiran Stacey · Pippa Crerar and Jessica Elgot

19 October 2026 at 14:37

Exclusive: Utility seen as ‘litmus test’ of PM’s promise to bring ‘essentials of life’ under public control

Andy Burnham has told officials to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company.

In an early test of his promise to bring “the essentials of life” under public control, the prime minister is urging his advisers to go back to the drawing board and create a new list of policies for the utility.

Four years ago countries made a historic deal to save nature. Is it dead in the water?

The Guardian

By: Patrick Greenfield

19 October 2026 at 06:16

So far not a single target of the plan has been met. As negotiators convene for Cop17, the pressure is on to find a way to honour the commitments made at previous summits

Cop17 at a glance: everything you need to know about the UN’s nature summit

Passersby could smell the dead fish before they saw them. In August, more than 3,000 pike, roach, carp and rudd were found lifeless along the River Wensum in Norwich. Some gasped for air in their final moments, desperate for the oxygen that heatwave conditions had depleted in the water. Investigators believe that the die-off was triggered by heavy rainfall that flushed through high concentrations of pollution at a time when wildlife were already struggling.

The 45-mile (70km) chalk river is one of about 250 in the country. They are a geological accident almost unique to Britain – and one of Earth’s rarest habitats. They emerge from chalk aquifers and are home to species such as freshwater shrimp, otters and stoneflies, also providing drinking water for millions of people. But just 11 have formal protection, with many ravaged by sewage pollution and overextraction. The Norfolk river is one of the few that does have legal protection, but it is in poor ecological health.

Tap water no longer drinkable in Norwegian town as climate-related thawing releases heavy metals

The Guardian

By: Karen McVeigh

19 October 2026 at 01:00

Warning for other Arctic communities as residents told not to use water in Longyearbyen in Svalbard, one of the fastest-warming places in the world

Residents of a remote town in Norway that is in one of the fastest-warming places in the world have been told they must no longer drink tap water due to heavy metal contamination that scientists have linked to the thawing permafrost.

Longyearbyen, in the archipelago of Svalbard, gets its main drinking water supply from a 1.5 mile-long (2.5km) dammed lake called Isdammen, or “ice pond”. Higher temperatures as a result of the climate crisis have thawed permafrost, leading to newly exposed bedrock leaching metals into the pond.

Stinky business: south London bike shop hit by ‘unbearable’ stench from Thames Water sewer

The Guardian

By: Matthew Weaver

17 October 2026 at 05:00

Owner and mechanics fear for their health and future of the Herne Hill shop with no date for fixing problem

The leafy south London neighbourhood of Herne Hill is a haven for cyclists who can often be seen lapping the local parks and refuelling at the many cafes that line the suburban streets. But there is something foul in the air of this corner of the capital – and for once it’s not the traffic fumes hitting bicycle riders.

A toxic stench thought to be caused by untreated sewage stuck in Thames Water drains has been emanating from the subterranean depths for months, most likely caused by the summer’s lack of rain.

The water torture goes on at Thames. Sector-wide reform isn’t moving much faster | Nils Pratley

The Guardian

By: Nils Pratley

15 October 2026 at 14:00

If ‘public control’ bit is delaying overhaul, that needs to be nailed down sharpish or continued uncertainty could be costly

It is strange now to recall that Thames Water had a prominent slot on what was known as “Sue’s shit list” – the internal Labour dossier, compiled by Keir Starmer’s first chief of staff, Sue Gray, of potential crises that could erupt at short notice and force the incoming administration to make some big decisions quickly.

That was July 2024. Here we are – more than two years later – and the Thames script has barely advanced. We’re still waiting to see if the financial crisis at the over-indebted, under-performing water company will be resolved by a creditor-led recapitalisation, special administration or something else.

Thames Water asks for £2.4bn more to avoid going bust this year or early 2027

The Guardian

By: Jasper Jolly

15 October 2026 at 13:14

Water company tells creditors it will not survive long enough to agree refinancing deal without more money

Thames Water has asked its creditors for another £2.4bn as the embattled water company comes close to running out of cash.

The UK’s largest water company said on Thursday it needed another short-term cash injection because it would be unable to reach a longer-term deal to sort out its giant debt pile before running out of cash by “the end of 2026 or the start of 2027”.

Severe drought declared in six areas of England as reservoirs run low

The Guardian

By: Sandra Laville

15 October 2026 at 08:18

Some reservoirs in south at critical levels as water companies call for extended restrictions that would affect golf clubs, private schools and car washes

A severe drought has been declared in six areas of England, with some reservoirs at critically low levels, threatening public supplies.

Parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex have moved into severe drought, and urgent measures are being taken to secure public supplies of water after the UK experienced its hottest summer on record.

Businesses could be barred from non-essential water use amid supply threat

The Guardian

By: Sandra Laville

14 October 2026 at 02:00

Golf clubs, private schools and car washes may face tighter rules from water companies as England’s drought continues

Three water companies are seeking to impose severe restrictions on businesses as the drought continues across most of England, putting rivers and wildlife under huge pressure.

Golf clubs and private schools could be barred from using mains water to irrigate playing fields and courses, and commercial car washes stopped from operating, under “non-essential use bans” being sought by the companies.

"It's a cat!"

MetaFilter

By: brachiopod

13 October 2026 at 10:22

EV Nautilus captures cute, laser chasing behaviour of a deep sea octopus.

Rapid showers and no flushing toilets: drought pushes Lundy island to the brink

The Guardian

By: Steven Morris

11 October 2026 at 08:00

A dry summer has left the Bristol Channel island critically short of water, forcing visitor caps and talk of evacuating its 28 residents

Tom Carr was peering up at the clouds scudding around the island of Lundy, 10 miles off the coast of north Devon. “That one’s definitely got rain in it,” he said. “The mainland will be wet at the moment. And look over at Wales – it’s getting a real soaking just now.”

But above Lundy the sky was, stubbornly, blue. No significant rain has fallen here since the start of May, leading to perilously low water levels. Restrictions have been put in place, visitor numbers limited and there has been talk of the island – home to 28 people – being evacuated.

Revealed: the ‘black box’ wastewater trade that rakes in millions for UK utility companies

The Guardian

By: Rachel Salvidge

9 October 2026 at 01:00

Exclusive: Firms made more than £340m last year from processing industrial and commercial wastewater at sewage works that are unable to remove many chemical pollutants

Water companies in the UK made more than £340m in revenue last year by pouring billions of litres of industrial and commercial wastewater into sewage treatment works that experts say are not designed to remove most chemicals, leaving pollutants to pass into rivers, seas and farmland.

Water companies in England are required by law to take industrial wastewater and issue permits called “trade-effluent consents” that allow businesses to send it to sewage works, though water companies can refuse applications.

Stockpile food – and wash your hands: is that really how to prepare for environmental catastrophe? | George Monbiot

The Guardian

By: George Monbiot

8 October 2026 at 01:00

The UK state is dumping its responsibilities on our doorsteps, while green-lighting policies that lead us closer to crisis

Would you mind fixing the NHS? And while you’re at it, could you please build an anti-missile system in your garden? Then regulate the banks, replace the water mains, tax the very rich and use the proceeds to rebuild our schools. Well, come on people: what are you waiting for?

I exaggerate, but this isn’t very far from the approach taken by the government’s Prepare campaign. Crucial functions, way beyond the scope of individual action, are dumped on our doorsteps while those in power fail to act. As a result, our national resilience is arguably lower than at any time since the second world war. At the Labour conference last week, Andy Burnham promised “a Britain where people feel the country has got their back again”. To make good on that pledge, he will have to change almost everything.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

South West Water owner taps investors to fix infrastructure after sewage spills

The Guardian

By: Joanna Partridge

7 October 2026 at 10:14

Pennon slashes dividend and launches £550m cash call ‘to drive improved outcomes for customers and communities’

Burnham, take note: water shareholders have their uses

The owner of embattled South West Water has slashed its dividend and launched a cash call to investors as it attempts to fund infrastructure investment, days after it was hit by a record £7.9m fine for hundreds of sewage spills.

London-listed Pennon said on Wednesday it would tap investors for £550m, as part of a £1bn investment “to drive improved outcomes for customers and communities”.