WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

for state auditor of North Carolina.
• In March 2000, local authorities in Limeira, Brazil moved to
renationalise the city’s water supply after a Suez subsidiary
invested only half of the required amount in the water
network.
• Suez triggered off the water wars in El Alto and La Paz and the
fall of the president of that time, Carlos Mesa, on the grounds
of contractual non-compliance.
(see: chapter on Bolivia)
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w w w . s u e z - e n v i r o n n e m e n t . c o m (English)
Thames Water (UK/Australia)
Thames Water, known originally as the Thames Water Authority
(founded in 1973 under the terms of the Water Act 1973) and after
privatisation in 1989 as Thames Water Utilities Ltd., is responsible
for the water supply and wastewater treatment in parts of Greater
London and other communities. Initially, it was also responsible for
managing the rivers and water catchments of the area, as well as being
the navigation authority of the non-tidal River Thames. When the
utility was privatised, its regulatory, river management and navigation
responsibilities were transferred to the National Rivers Authority,
which later became part of the Environment Agency. In 2001, Thames
Water Plc was acquired by the German utility company RWE.
In October 2006, RWE announced that it was selling Thames Water
to Kemble Water Ltd. for £4∙8 billion (since Thames Water had a pro
forma net debt of £3∙2 billion this implies an enterprise value of £8∙0
billion). Kemble is a consortium led by an investment fund run by the
Australian Macquarie Bank. Australian investment funds already have
interests in South-East Water and Mid-Kent Water. The sale went ahead
in December 2006. Since then, the company has refocused its efforts
on improving its operational performance and this year announced the
largest-ever capital investment (£1 billion) of any UK water company.
Thames Water has been repeatedly criticised by the industry regulator
OFWAT for the amount of water that leaks from its pipes and
subsequently fined for this. In May 2006, the loss amounted to nearly
900 megalitres per day. In June 2006, Thames Water missed its target
for reducing leakages for the third year in a row. Also that month,
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