Calls for Thames super sewer to be scaled back

Thames Water plans to bore a 20-mile tunnel under the length of the Thames to transfer raw sewage from west London to the Beckton treatment works in the east. Some 39 million tonnes of sewage a year currently overflows into the Thames.

The Thames Tunnel Commission, set up by Hammersmith and Fulham Council and other London boroughs to probe the plans, has concluded that there might be better and cheaper ways to clean up the Thames that should be investigated further. The councils are concerned about the impact of the project cost on residents’ water bills.

A second consultation into the scheme starts later this week.

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