On the back of a £114 m fine for missing targets for sewage leaks and spills, Thames Water bosses were summoned to appear before the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee - on which Dr Neil Hudson MP sits - to answer for the firm's financial concerns and poor environmental performance.
This was followed by an evidence session with water regulators Ofwat on how they can be better supported in carrying out their task of holding water company polluters to account.
The firm's financial situation has been brought into sharp relief in recent months, compounded with a poor record on the environment.
As such, EFRA MPs provided democratic scrutiny of the company.
For Dr Hudson's part he quizzed the company on improving its performance on sewage outflow, particularly when capital may not be readily available. He mentioned that in July the firm was fined for discharging millions of litres of raw sewage in 2017 into two rivers killing 1,400 fish near Gatwick Airport leading to a prosecution. A judge also ruled that the company had deliberately made attempts to mislead the Environment Agency about their actions in this.
Dr Hudson also quizzed the firm on backsliding on their net zero commitments, their approach to transparency, and their financial capabilities moving forward.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"The recent Thames Water session was deeply troubling. It is important that we parliamentarians hold these water companies to account on their finances, how they treat the environment and the customer service they provide.
"Our task is now to move toward an equitable solution for Thames Water customers, the British taxpayer and our precious environment. With our Conservative Government beefing up regulatory powers, our new Plan for Water and punitive actions already taken against polluters, I do think the tide is turning on water companies - yet this recent session has shown we cannot take our eye off the ball.
"Trust me when I say this issue is hugely close to my heart and I will keep pushing until our waterways have a clean and sustainable future."
Representing the many concerns of his constituents, Dr Hudson also raised, with Ofwat, the recent BBC Panorama investigations into United Utilities which found that the water company had downgraded dozens of pollution incidents so that the Environment Agency did not investigate. In response Ofwat's David Black told Dr Hudson "We do impose extremely high punishments on companies if they are found to be misrepresenting their position" and has six live enforcement cases open against wastewater companies.
This is due to recent bolstering of regulatory powers enacted by the Conservative Government. Watch Dr Hudson praise the Government's new rules to impose unlimited fines and withhold shareholder dividends for uncompliant water companies here.
You can read a full transcript of the session here: committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/13992/pdf
And, you can watch the session here: www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/d21c0107-d429-4d8c-8092-189ad08ef28e
