The River Summit 2025 - Human Behaviour, panellists include Ofwat and Laura Reineke of Friends of the Thames.

💧 Whose Thames Is It Anyway? Laura Reineke at the River Summit Calls for Action

This week at the River Summit, the water got a little choppier – in the best possible way. Laura Reineke, speaking for Friends of the Thames, stood up on behalf of our beloved River Thames and asked a question many of us have been quietly whispering: what is happening to our rivers – and who’s actually looking after them?

The answer, unfortunately, isn't flowing smoothly. With Thames Water drowning in debt, dumping sewage, and dodging accountability, Reineke’s message was crystal clear: it’s time to bring our river back under public ownership – and fast. She called for special administration, a bold move to hold polluters accountable and put our waterways back in the hands of the people.

Images - Honor Teare

Because let’s be honest: rivers don’t need shareholders. They need guardians.

And that’s where you come in.Reineke didn’t just call out the crisis – she invited us into the solution. She urged every one of us to think about what we flush, what we pour, and what we ignore. The Thames is not a bin, nor a bystander. It’s a living, breathing artery of our community, and it needs more than love – it needs action.

💥 Be a river guardian.Get muddy. Speak up. Test the water. Show up at council meetings. Talk to your kids. Join your local water watch. Tweet your MP. Celebrate your river. And yes — if you can, support the small, scrappy, beautiful grassroots groups trying to keep it all afloat.

👉 Friends of the Thames is doing this work every day. If you’d like to help them keep making waves, you can support them here – quietly powerful, just like the river herself.

Let’s not let our Thames be flushed away.💙 It's our river. Let’s act like it.

Wise Words From Our Inspiring CEO Laura Reineke