What is Thames Water?
'''Thames Water Utilities Ltd''', known as '''Thames Water''', is a large private [[utility company]]. It supplies water and waste [[water treatment]] in most of [[Greater London]], [[Luton]], the [[Thames Valley]], [[Surrey]], [[Gloucestershire]], north [[Wiltshire]], far west [[Kent]], and some other parts of England. It was started in 1989 during [[Privatization|privatisation]] of the water industry in England and Wales. The water is mostly sourced from the [[River Thames|Thames]] as well as some other rivers and boreholes. It is the biggest water and wastewater services company in the United Kingdom. It runs the Thames Water Ring Main around London, one of Europe's largest wastewater treatment works and the UK's first large-scale [[desalination]] plant—both at [[Beckton]] in east London—and the £4.2 billion [[Thames Tideway]] [[sewer]] currently under construction. It supplies 2.5 billion litres (550 million imperial gallons) of drinking water and treats 4.6 billion litres (1,000 million imperial gallons) of wastewater a day. It serves a population of 15.5 million people—about a quarter of the UK population—but its ageing [[infrastructure]] often leaks and causes [[pollution]]. == History == The New River was started in 1604 by Edmund Colthurst to carry fresh water from [[Hertfordshire]] into London. The business of the New River was taken over by the New River Company, officially founded by [[royal charter]] in 1619. This developed into the Thames Conservancy which started in 1857 when [[Joseph Bazalgette]] started building the London sewers.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Stink of London: Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis|first=Stephen|last= Halliday|publisher=The History Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0752493787}}</ref> Thames Water plc was bought by the [[Germany|German]] utility company [[RWE]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/germany-s-rwe-in-frame-for-thames-water-owner-takeover-bid-for-power-giant-sparks-surge-in-share-pric