The water sector has come in for more criticism in the Financial Times newspaper – this time over Thames Water’s track record on leakage.

Commenting on information published by the European Commission on losses from leakage in various EU countries, an article in the FT’s Lex column on Friday drew attention to the high level of leakage recorded in Amasya in Turkey where it is commonly as high as 48%.

In contrast, the article says, Thames Water, where last year leakage stood at 26%, “has nothing on the Amasya water utility department”.

However, it then goes on to flag up the fact that Thames is expecting a further £20m-£30m in fines, on top of £97m of new spend in addition to the £145m committed to “pipe mending” in the current AMP6 investment period.

Questioning whether the high spend reflects “scanty prior investment”, the article concludes by saying:

“Subterranean London is a complex place to operate. But it looks likely that a poorer service and higher costs …reflect mediocrity. When poorly managed, money, like water, leaches away.”