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- London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London. For much of London's history, private companies supplied fresh water to various parts of London from wells, the River Thames and the River Lea. Further demand prompted new conduits and sources, particularly when the Agricultural and Industrial Revolution caused a boom in London's population and housing. A crisis point was reached in the mid 19th century with the understanding that cholera and other disease arose from the extraction of water from the increasingly polluted tidal Thames. The Metropolis Water Act 1852 banned this practice, allowing water companies three years to find other sources. The 20th century saw consolidation of water suppliers and a substantial investment in London's water infrastructure as the population grew. London's water suppliers (known also as undertakings) were nationalised as the Metropolitan Water Board and then subsequently re-privatised in the 1980s. Today, the population of Greater London is supplied by four private companies: Thames Water (76% of population), Affinity Water (14%), Essex and Suffolk Water (6.6%) and Sutton and East Surrey Water (3.7%). The London area is classified as "seriously water stressed", receiving less rain than Rome, Dallas, or Sydney, and continued investment will be required to counteract the effects of climate change and a growing population in the 21st century. Most of London's water is now supplied from five large water treatment works fed from the non-tidal Thames and Lea, and to a lesser extent from aquifers and a desalination plant at Beckton. As of 2020, Thames Water's London zone, which serves the majority of London's water users, has the capacity to supply 2.3 gigalitres (510 million imperial gallons) of water per day. (en)
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