The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) today announced that Thames Water has been appointed as a tier three sponsor of London 2012, becoming Official Water Utility Services Provider of the Games.

As part of the deal, Thames Water will provide all water utility and waste water services at London 2012 venues, ensuring clean, reliable tap water and sanitation to the Games. 

Thames Water has already won a contract with the Olympic Delivery Authority to build the UK's biggest ever black water recycling plant on the edge of the Olympic Park, which per year will conserve the equivalent of up to 83 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water, treated to drinking standards.  The facility, set to be completed this October, will produce 570,000 litres of water from Londoners' sewage for non-drinking purposes including the heating and cooling of the Olympic Park's Energy Centre.

LOCOG Commercial Director Chris Townsend commented:

"We are thrilled to welcome Thames Water to the London 2012 sponsorship family, their expertise and attention to detail will ensure our venues are not just operational at Games time but are world class theatres for spectators to see athletes from across the globe compete at the greatest show on earth."

The black water recycling plant will take wastewater from the Northern Outfall sewer, which runs beneath The Greenway, and treat it using the latest technology before pumping it through a dedicated water mains network into the Olympic Park for reuse.

The facility will provide enough non-drinkable water to flush more than 80,000 toilets each day. As well as being used for toilet flushing in the main buildings and venues, it will be used to irrigate the parklands and fields of play within venues, and for heating and cooling operations in the Energy Centre.

It will also play a key role in ensuring efficient water use throughout the Olympic Park and help the ODA meet its target for at least a 40 per cent reduction in the demand for drinkable water across the site.

Last week Thames Water won the award for 'most innovative company' at the procurement industry's equivalent of the Oscars - the Procurement Leaders 2011 Excellence Awards. Thames Water's procurement team, who source and supply everything from pencils to pipes, won the award for its 2010-to-2015 Capital Procurement Transformation project. The team was also runner-up in the 'best procurement team' category, having initially been nominated in five categories – the most ever by one individual company in the history of the awards.