Reading Lib Dem Councillor demands answers from Thames Water as Foudry Brook sewage discharges nearly double

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor James Moore has submitted a formal question to Reading Borough Council's Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport Committee, demanding Thames Water return to face scrutiny after new data revealed a sharp rise in sewage discharges into the Foudry Brook.

In 2023, Thames Water told the Committee that discharges from the Reading Sewage Treatment Works into the Foudry Brook averaged around 8 per year. New data from the Rivers Trust shows that in 2025 alone, the site discharged 14 times, for a total of 168.5 hours — nearly double the figure Thames Water reported less than three years ago.

Despite this, Thames Water has not appeared before the Committee since 2023.

Cllr Moore's question asks the Committee Chair to obtain a written update from Thames Water on discharges since 2023, and to commit to inviting the company back to answer for the deterioration.

Cllr James Moore said:

"In 2023, Thames Water told us discharges into the Foudry Brook averaged around 8 times a year. The latest figures show 14 discharges in 2025 alone — nearly double that. Yet Thames Water hasn't been back to face this Committee since.

"Residents in Tilehurst and across Reading deserve to know why this is getting worse, not better, and what Thames Water and this Council are doing about it. That's why I've submitted a formal question demanding answers and a return to scrutiny.

"This isn't an isolated local problem. Nationally, the Liberal Democrats have long called for Ofwat to be replaced with a real regulator that can hold water companies to account. The Government promised a crackdown a year ago — but as of this month, it's produced not a single new prosecution. Local scrutiny matters more than ever while national enforcement continues to fail."