A “super sewer” aimed at reducing sewage discharges into the tidal Thames by 95 per cent has opened.
The Thames Tideway Tunnel, spanning 16 miles (25km) from Acton in west London to Beckton in east London, is designed to capture, store and divert sewage away from the river.
Valves at four of the tunnel’s 21 sites, which operate like giant gates, have opened, capturing 600,000 sq m of sewage over a 24-hour period after heavy rainfall on 23 September, according to Tideway, the company overseeing the project’s delivery.
While the seven metre-wide tunnel was due to be completed in 2024, Tideway announced during the pandemic in 2020 that the project’s completion would be delayed by nine months to the first half of 2025, with the forecast total cost rising by £233m to £4.13bn.
Construction on the Thames Tideway, also known as the Super Sewer, started in 2016 (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
This figure has since increased to £4.5bn – an amount that will be partly funded by a £25 annual increase in Thames Water customers’ bills.
The sewer will have a combined capacity of 16 million sq m once completed.
“This is an important moment for the Thames,” said Andy Mitchell, Tideway’s chief executive.
“The super sewer has been switched on and is starting to protect the river from sewage pollution.
“These are early days, with more connections to make and further testing to come, but the super sewer’s positive influence on the health of the Thames will increase over the coming months – and London will soon be home to the cleaner, healthier river it deserves,” he added.
Water minister Emma Hardy said: “The Thames has defined the capital and the nation, but like so many of our waterways it has been degraded by unacceptable levels of pollution.
“The Thames Tideway Tunnel is an example of the transformation and investment we want to see up and down the country to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas.”
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “For around £2 a month on customer bills (£25 over a year), the Thames Tideway Tunnel, combined with previous upgrades we’ve made to our London sewage works and the building of the Lee Tunnel, will capture 95 per cent of the volume of untreated sewage currently entering the tidal Thames in a typical year.”
Thames Water dumped sewage into waterways across its region 16,990 times for a total of 196,414 hours last year, according to Environment Agency data.
The regulator Ofwat ordered the company to return £56.8m to customers on Tuesday after the firm was found to have performed poorly on measures of customer satisfaction, supply interruptions, sewers flooding into buildings (known as “internal sewer flooding”), leakages and pollution incidents.
This works out to an average discount of £3.55 for each Thames Water customer, i‘s analysis found.
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The rebate was announced following Ofwat’s annual review of water and wastewater companies’ performance in England and Wales, which found they missed key targets on issues like pollution.
Not a single company achieved the regulator’s top category of “leading”, with Anglian Water, Welsh Water and Southern Water falling into the lowest category of “lagging” while the remaining 10 were rated “average”.
Thames Water moved up a category from “lagging” to “average” after meeting some of its performance targets on leakage and supply interruptions.
The companies were ordered to return a total of £158m to customers next year due to their poor performance.
Ofwat chief executive David Black said a change in culture was needed, warning companies that “money alone” does not suffice to address the issue.
“It is clear that companies need to change and that has to start with addressing issues of culture and leadership,” he said. “Too often we hear that weather, third parties or external factors are blamed for shortcomings.
“Companies must implement actions now to improve performance, be more dynamic, agile and on the front foot of issues. And not wait until the Government or regulators tell them to act.”
Some of the measures laid out in the manifesto will be introduced in the Labour Government’s new Water (Special Measures) Bill, including tougher powers for Ofwat and increased prosecutions against water companies.
However, i is still urging the Government to go further by using its first Budget to raise Environment Agency funding to enable it to properly monitor sewage spills as well as offer farmers grants to reduce agricultural pollution.
i is calling on all the political parties to sign up to its manifesto to Save Britain’s Rivers
#1. RIVER HEALTH: 77% rivers in good health by 2027
Current situation: England’s rivers were once havens of biodiversity, but the vast majority are now struggling to support healthy ecosystems of plants and wildlife. Just 14 per cent of rivers in England are currently in good ecological health and not a single river has achieved good chemical health. The Government has set a legal target that 77 per cent will achieve good ecological status by 2027 – but without urgent action this will not happen.
Target: Within its first six months in power, the new Government will publish a roadmap on how it is going to achieve this existing legal target, and its long-awaited chemical strategy. The plan must include increased funding for the Environment Agency so the watchdog can do its job – and enforce the law.
#2. SEWAGE: Sewage spills will not damage high-priority areas – including bathing spots and nature sites – by 2030
Current situation: Bathing waters and nature sites are being destroyed by sewage spills, but water companies will not be required to clean up all these spaces until 2045.
Target: Untreated sewage will not cause damage to high-priority sites (which are bathing spots, protected nature sites, National Parks and chalk streams) by 2030. Water companies who fail to meet this target will be prosecuted. Nature-based solutions will be used to clean up sewage wherever possible.
#3. WATCHDOG: Regulators will stop water companies destroying the environment in pursuit of profit
Current situation: Water companies have paid their investors healthy dividends while failing to invest enough in their infrastructure to prevent environmental harm. This is partly caused by a disjointed regulatory system that prioritises economic outcomes over the environment.
Target: Within its first year in power, the new Government will publish a plan to reform regulation of water companies. This plan must be legislated on and executed within the first term of Parliament. This will include tougher powers to restrict dividends and bonuses for underperforming water companies, alongside greater resources to pursue prosecution. A “green duty” will be placed on Ofwat, which will force the regulator to place greater emphasis on the environment when making decisions over water companies’ business plans.
#4. BATHING: Create 100 clean bathing spots in rivers by 2030
Current situation: People in the UK have discovered the joy of wild swimming. But there are only 15 official bathing spots in English rivers, and many are not safe.
Target: 100 bathing spots in English rivers by the end of the new parliamentary term. The Environment Agency must start monitoring water quality throughout the year and take action to improve water quality at these sites. Bathing regulations will be altered so polluters can be prosecuted when bathing sites fail water quality tests.
#5. FARMING: Farmers must be funded to improve water quality, and face enforcement action if they damage the environment
Current situation: Agriculture is the biggest source of pollution in many rivers, but many farmers warn they are struggling to make ends meet under post-Brexit farming subsidies. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency is failing to enforce farming water-quality regulations.
Target: Within its first year in power, the new Government will strengthen its Environmental Land Management scheme so farmers are given more grants, support and advice to undertake activities that will improve water quality. The Environment Agency will commit to a year-on-year increase in the number of farms being inspected – and take enforcement action against those who commit breaches of the “farming rules for water”.
