Thames Tideway Tunnel Already Has Had an Impact
Captures 850,000 tonnes of sewage during recent heavy rainfall
Some of the tunnel shafts are as wide as the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. Picture: Matthew Joseph
December 10, 2024
Although it is not fully operational, the Thames Tideway Tunnell is already helping to reduce the amount of sewage being discharged into the river.
During heavy rainfall that took place on 27 November, nearly 850,000 tonnes of sewage was captured in one day on the network of tunnels which has 12 out of 21 sewer connection points live. At its peak, the entire system was over half full, containing nearly one million tonnes of storm sewage.
The new super sewer is designed to ‘intercept’ spill points in the river wall and improve the health of the River Thames.
In October, the company announced that the first of the 21 connection points had been activated and since then more have come on line including at Chelsea, Blackfriars and Westminster. Historically, London’s existing sewer network was overwhelmed during even light rainfall, with storm flows discharged directly into the Thames.
Roger Bailey, Tideway’s Chief Technical Officer, said, “These new figures show the super sewer starting to do its job. As more connections come online, the protection of the river will increase further, dramatically improving its health. There is still work to do but our teams are working hard to make the new infrastructure fully operational next year.”
Nevil Muncaster, Asset Management and Engineering Director, Thames Water, added, “During storms like we’ve just seen, the super sewer really come into its own; successfully protecting the environment from wastewater overflows that would otherwise have been necessary .
“The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a significant part of our overall investment programme, developed over many years, to improve the health of the Thames. Collectively these investments will culminate in a 95% reduction in storm overflows in the capital once it’s fully commissioned next year.”
Work on the project began in 2016 – with activity taking place at two dozen construction sites from Acton in west London to Abbey Mills Pumping Station in Stratford, east London. More than 20 deep shafts – some as wide as the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral – were constructed across London to divert sewage flows and to lower tunnelling machines into the ground.
The project is due to be fully up and running (with testing complete) in 2025. Thames Water will then operate the system, as part of its London wastewater network.
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