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Thames Water to restart east London desalination in winter
The Beckton plant has supplied only about seven days of London’s daily demand over 15 years, and Thames Water said it is preparing to bring it online by year end if needed for reservoir recovery.
Thames Water says it plans to restart its desalination plant at Beckton in east London later this year, but the utility expects the facility to be ready only in winter, after the current drought conditions are likely to have eased, according to the Guardian Business.
The plant has provided drinking water for just seven days total, having run only five times over the past 15 years and delivering 7.2 billion litres, the outlet reported. Thames Water said it is targeting an online start by the end of the year to support reservoir recovery over the winter for next summer.
The utility fully opened the Beckton desalination plant in 2011 after spending an initial £270 million, designed to draw seawater from the Thames estuary during drought periods. The project’s total counted cost has since risen to about £500 million, raising questions about value given its limited operation, the Guardian Business said.
Thames Water supplies 16 million customers in London and the Thames valley, and its drought performance is expected to face scrutiny as Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to decide the company’s future in the coming weeks. A Thames Water spokesperson said preparations are under way at the Thames Gateway water treatment works in Beckton so the plant can be brought online by year end if needed, the outlet reported.