Super Sewer in London comes late

The “Super Sewer” is London’s new sensational large-scale project. 4,2 billion Pound (near to six billion Euros) will be invested into the construction of a new canal, which is supposed to support the sewage system of the capital. But the large-scale project is implemented rather late.

 

“The Great Stink” is what London’s inhabitants called the Thames in 1858 after an especially hot summer made the city’s river smell especially unwell. The city administration feared that this smell could be the trigger for outbreaks of cholera and ordered to construct a major sewage to improve the health oft its two million inhabitants. Since then the population got four times bigger. The sewage system stayed largely the same.

Now London’s sewage system is facing big problems whenever it rains – something London is not unknown for. The low lever interceptor sewers overflow easily and the sewage drains directly into the Thames. Only last year 62 million tons of sewage got into the Thames untreated. The planned “Super Sewer“ is supposed to clean up this mess.

Route of the Thames Tideway Tunnel

Therefore the Themes Tideway Tunnel is an important step to improve London’s sewage system. Though, it comes quite late. The tunnel will be finished only in 2023. For comparison: The city of Vienna implemented a similar project in 2005.

Link:
“Thames Tideway Tunnel” Website
Interactive map of “Thames Tideway Tunnel”