A £250m water plant built to protect hundreds of thousands of homes from the effects of drought has been switched off, The Telegraph has learned.
As hose bans were imposed on a million more people in southern England, Thames Water admitted a major water desalination plant opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2010 will not be operational until next year as very soon.
The company had repeatedly assured regulators as recently as January that the Beckton plant in east London was ready to be activated “for drought use”, saying it would help provide fresh drinking water to up to 400,000 households every day.
But The Telegraph has learned that the plant, the only one in the UK designed to turn salt seawater into fresh water, has been shut down amid questions about whether it was ever fully operational.
Instead, Thames Water has asked bill payers to stop washing their cars and watering their lawns ahead of a planned hosepipe ban in the capital.
Senior industry sources suggested the plant has effectively stalled amid concerns over its high running costs as opposed to asking customers to limit their water use.
Thames Water made profits of £488m last year. He has increased bills by more than four per cent this year, with the costs of a family home in his area rising to around £415 a year.
On Wednesday, a source at Ofwat, the water regulator, said it would look into Thames Water’s management of the plant during this year’s shortage.
It comes as hose and sprinkler bans were imposed on homes in Sussex and Kent, with water companies blaming the driest July on record.