Four of the Thames’ super sewer valves have been officially switched on after eight years of construction.
The valves operate as giant gates and are now open at four of the 21 locations that make up the system.
Tideway, the company delivering the super sewer, made the first connection around six weeks ago and the fourth last week. The remaining 17 valves are due to open in the coming months, with the project reaching full operating capacity in 2025.
The London Tideway Tunnel network was completed in May following the connection of the new 25km of super sewer to the 7km Lee Tunnel.
Both systems have a combined capacity of 1.6m cu m – the equivalent of 640 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Eliminating Thames’ sewage pollution
Data released today (13 October) shows that on one day alone when London experienced heavy rainfall, the super sewer captured 589,000 cu m of water with only the first four connections activated.
Tideway teams are currently connecting the remaining discharge points to the London Tideway Tunnel and testing the entire system during different weather conditions, including heavy storms.
Once fully operational, Tideway expects the super sewer to virtually eliminate the harmful effects of sewage pollution on the River Thames through central London.
A complex megaproject
The £4.5bn super sewer project began in 2016 with works at 24 construction sites from Acton in West London 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 megaproject is being delivered by a group of tier-one contractors, including a joint venture of BAM Nuttall, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and Balfour Beatty for the west region and a joint venture of Ferrovial Agroman UK and Laing O’Rourke for the central region.
The east region is being built by a joint venture of Costain, Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche.
Amey is delivering the system integration.
Thames Water will operate the system as part of its London wastewater network.
