The Anonymous Widower

Thames Water Can’t Win

There is a big row brewing in London about the Super Sewer that will run down the middle of the Thames.

The problem isn’t about foul water, but mainly about heavy rain causing problems, when it overloads the current system, which then causes foul water to be forced out onto the streets and into the Thames.

When I went down the sewers, I was given a presentation on the Super Sewer and totally understand that something must be done.

The question is what.

Some things don’t help.

London had 55,000 sewage blockages last year.  Many are caused by inappropriate things, like chip fat, disposable nappies and general rubbish being put down the toilet. I’ve been told and not by Thames Water, I should add, that in tower blocks some residents are too lazy to walk down with their rubbish and use the toilet instead. There was also the notorious fatberg in Leicester Square outside a fast food restaurant.

Thames Water has launched a Bin it – Don’t Block it campaign.

There are also lots of people who have concreted over their front garden, which means that the water now runs off immediately.

You could argue that if you have a concreted front garden, then you should pay an extra drainage rate.  I have a small patio between my front door and the road and wouldn’t mind paying a charge on a pro-rata basis. I also have a mature tree, which I think is a hornbeam,  between the patio and the road, which might be bad for my hay fever, but it soaks up an awful load of water.

My Roadside Tree – A Hornbeam?

On a similar tack, new buildings should have plenty of green space and trees.  But often this restricts the places to park cars and other vehicles.

Those that object to the Super Sewer use two main arguments.

The first is that it might not work and the second is that it will cost too much.

But most of the opposition is just the usual Nimbys, who don’t want construction near them. How many of these peple use disposable nappies on their babies?  We never did in London, as in those days of the 1970s, there was still an affordable nappy service, where clean nappies were delivered regularly and the dirty ones taken away.  The trouble is today’s parents are seduced by advertising.  They may be all for saving the whale and the tiger, but when it comes to stopping sewage blockages, then that is not their problem.

So what do I think should be done?

Obviously, we first need to stop the blockages.  This is mainly a publicity problem to get people to change their bad habits.  If they won’t then more draconian solutions like the banning of disposable nappies and extra water taxes on fast food restaurants will be pushed for and might have to come in.

One idea I’d like to see tried is a SewerCam on the Greenway, showing what was going on beneath their feet in the Northern Outfall Sewer.

Thames Water have the start of a private museum at the old Abbey Mills Pumping Station, but where is the London Museum of Water and Sewage?

New technology has a part to play too.

On the Olympic Park all of the toilets and grass watering is going to be fed from recycled water, in part taken from the Northern Outfall Sewer.

Are London’s many parks kept green in the same way.  I suspect many just use mains water, which just adds to the problem.

Surely someone could come up with a small water purification plant, that uses water collected from say housing estates to water the nearby parks.

We should also stop the covering of gardens with concrete and decking and make sure that all new buildings reuse all of the water they collect on their roofs.

But I’m afraid that if we use all the tricks we have available, we will probably need to put a Super Sewer under the Thames.

August 3, 2011 Posted by AnonW | News | Abbey Mills Pumping Station, Engineering, Nimbies, River Thames, Thames Tideway Tunnel, Water | 4 Comments