Thames Water to restart £500M desalination plant after drought ends

The UK's largest water utility plans to activate its Beckton desalination facility by year-end to rebuild winter supplies, though the facility has run only five times since opening and costs have ballooned to £500 million.

First covered Aug 14, 2026 · 8:08 AM PT · 1 article

Thames Water to restart £500M desalination plant after drought ends — Image via theguardian.com

Coverage

1d Guardian Environment Thames Water plans to restart desalination plant – after drought has ended — Utility company’s plant, which has only run five times, now has an estimated total cost of £500m Thames Water is preparing the UK’s only desalination plant to…

More coverage from around the web

aol.co.uk Thames Water plans to restart desalination plant – after drought has ended - AOL

yahoo.com Thames dusts off £250m desalination plant as drought worsens

aol.com Thames dusts off £250m desalination plant as drought worsens - AOL

ua.news Thames Water is preparing to launch a desalination plant in London | UA.NEWS

waterbriefing.org Thames Water opens Beckton desalination plant

Appeared in: 2026-08-16 (#14)

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