River Action Supports Legal Challenge Over Thames Sewage Investigation Failures

Two complainants have launched a legal challenge against Richmond Council over allegations it failed to investigate complaints about sewage pollution in the Thames, with support from the environmental charity River Action. The legal action was reported by Yahoo.

Richmond Council Faces Pre-Action Letter Over Thames Sewage

The claim alleges the council "failed to investigate the alleged nuisance or, alternatively, failed to take investigative steps reasonably practicable under the law." It follows a December 2025 complaint by Eleanor Warren, a rower, and Suzanne Cave, a Taggs Island resident and member of Taggs Island River Watch, about sewage discharges into the Thames.

A pre-action protocol letter has been sent to the council, setting out the legal grounds of the proposed challenge and asking it to reconsider its position. Under section 79(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a local authority must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to investigate a complaint of statutory nuisance made by a person living in its area.

Richmond Council said the legal framework for sewage pollution and statutory nuisance complaints was "extremely complex." The council said the Thames was "at the heart of life in Richmond" and that it would "carefully consider" whether there was sufficient evidence to support formal action, adding that associated costs were "significant" at a time "finances were being placed under huge pressure by Whitehall funding cuts."

Warren said: "Rowers should not have to accept the risk of sewage pollution as part of using the Thames." Cave said: "Living alongside the Thames, we see how pollution threatens the river and the people who depend on it."

The Richmond complaint is one of 13 statutory nuisance complaints submitted to councils across the Thames catchment in December 2025 as part of River Action's Make a Nuisance campaign. Complainants include five-time Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave and Olympic rowing champion Imogen Grant. Almost a year on, no council has opened a formal statutory nuisance investigation into Thames Water sewage discharges, according to River Action.

Erica Popplewell, River Action's head of public affairs, said: "Sewage pollution should never be an inevitable part of enjoying the River Thames." She called on the council to "act on the evidence."

River Action's Quad Cities Work

River Action is a Davenport-based environmental charity founded in 1984, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show it has distributed nearly 5,000 rain barrels in the Quad Cities region since 2002 through its Retain the Rain program, and that its RiverWay Project, begun in 1996, has raised over $15 million for trail improvements, public art, river education, wetland restoration and clean water programs. The records list a May 2025 grant of $7,500 led by the American Water Charitable Foundation.

Earlier River Action Events

River Action was scheduled to host its 20th annual Upper Mississippi River Conference in Davenport on November 4-5, focusing on water quality and the river's future, Yahoo reported in October 2026. Yahoo reported earlier that month that the conference would be held at the RiverCenter in Davenport.

Richmond Council's Response Deadline

Richmond Council said it would respond to the legal action by the November 10 deadline.