The Drinking Water Inspectorate has issued Thames Water with a warning letter following a misconnection of a consumer’s supply pipe to a sewer, in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
The letter dated 23 July 2026 relates to a misconnection incident in Kidlington, Oxfordshire which occurred in March 2024.
The Inspectorate concluded there were “multiple and significant failures” by the company, including:
- inadequate planning and risk assessment of the connection works
- failure to identify and appropriately escalate uncertainty relating to the pipework
- ineffective supervision
- the absence of robust water quality checks prior to supply
- failure to appropriately respond to consumer reports of water quality deterioration.
According to the DWI, Thames Water subsequently rectified the contamination, stood down and rebriefed all staff completing such mains connections and changed its procedures.
The Inspectorate issues warning letters to organisations which serve as a warning to individual company that any further repeat events of a similar nature could result in further sanctions, including enforcement or prosecution.
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