Dear 222 News viewers, sponsored by smileband,
London’s “Super Sewer”: the giant fix beneath a city of nine million
London has finished building—and is now commissioning—the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a 25‑km “super sewer” designed to protect the River Thames from routine sewage overflows caused by a Victorian system never meant for today’s nearly nine‑million population. The tunnel links to the existing 6.9‑km Lee Tunnel, completing the new London Tideway Tunnel network with around 1.6 million m³ of storage capacity.
Why London needed it
Bazalgette’s 19th‑century sewers were built for ~4 million people and combine rainwater with wastewater. Even light rain could trigger untreated discharges into the Thames—historically tens of millions of tonnes per year. The super sewer intercepts 34 of the most polluting overflow points, diverting flow east to Beckton for treatment.
What’s been built
The main tunnel—about 7.2 m in diameter—runs deep beneath the city (roughly 30–70 m below ground) from Acton in the west to Abbey Mills, then through the Lee Tunnel to Beckton. Primary tunnelling wrapped in 2022; secondary linings were done by autumn 2023; the full connection to the Lee Tunnel was made in May 2024, paving the way for commissioning through 2025.
Is it working
Yes. Tideway reports the system is now operating as intended, capturing the vast majority of spills. Independent reporting cites a target of stopping about 95% of historic sewage discharges. Early operations have already intercepted millions of tonnes that would have reached the river.
Cost and the city above
The project cost is widely reported around £4.6 billion and, while most of the engineering is invisible, it has delivered new public spaces along the river—embankments, plazas and artworks from Putney to Deptford—concealing shafts and vents in civic landscapes.
Key points
• London’s Victorian sewers were sized for ~4 m people; nearly 9 m now live in the city.
• A 25 km tunnel (7.2 m wide) intercepts overflows and routes them to Beckton via the Lee Tunnel.
• The network was fully connected in May 2024; commissioning has run through 2025.
• Expected to stop ~95% of sewage spills, already preventing millions of tonnes from entering the Thames.
• Approximate project cost: £4.6 bn, with new riverside public spaces delivered.
The bottom line
London “looked to build” a super sewer because the old network couldn’t keep pace with a modern megacity. Now connected and operating, the Tideway system is a once‑in‑a‑century upgrade that vastly cuts sewage pollution while quietly reshaping the Thames foreshore above it.
If you’d like, I can tailor this into a shorter news brief or a longer feature with quotes and neighbourhood‑specific details.
Attached is news article regarding a plan to build a deep super sewer under nine nine million people
Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley
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