‘Poo in the Water’: How Financial Engineering Sullied Britain’s Most Famous River

Environmental critics say Thames Water loaded up on debt to pay investors dividends while failing to upgrade London’s sewer system, which has spilled the equivalent of at least 34,000 Olympic swimming pools of raw sewage into the river since 2020. Dieter Helm, a University of Oxford professor who studies privatization, says part of the blame for the U.K.’s water problems rests with the government regulator, Ofwat, which failed to balance the competing interests of investors, who sought profits, and consumers, who wanted low bills and good service.