London sewer system

The London sewer system is part of the water infrastructure serving London, England. The modern system was developed during the late 19th century, and as London has grown the system has been expanded. It is currently owned and operated by Thames Water and serves almost all of Greater London.

History

During the early 19th century the River Thames was an open sewer, with disastrous consequences for public health in London, including cholera epidemics. These were caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Although the contamination of the water supply was correctly diagnosed by Dr John Snow in 1849 as the method of communication, up to the outbreak of 1866 it was believed that miasma, or bad air, was responsible.^[1] Proposals to modernise the sewerage system had been made in the early 1700s but the costs of such a project deterred progress. Further proposals followed in 1856, but were again neglected due to the costs. However, after the Great Stink of 1858, Parliament realised the urgency of the problem and resolved to create a modern sewerage system.^[2]

Joseph Bazalgette, a civil engineer and Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, was given responsibility for the work. He and his colleagues, including William Haywood, designed an extensive underground sewerage system that diverted waste to the Thames Estuary, downstream of the main centre of population. Six main interceptor sewers, totalling almost 160 km (100 miles) in length, were constructed, some incorporating stretches of London's "lost" rivers. Three of these sewers were north of the river, the southernmost, low-level one being incorporated in the Thames Embankment. The Embankment also allowed new roads, new public gardens, and the Circle line of the London Underground. Victoria Embankment was finally officially opened on 13 July 1870.^[3]^[4]

The intercepting sewers, constructed between 1859 and 1865, were fed by 450 miles (720 km) of main sewers that, in turn, conveyed the contents of some 13,000 miles (21,000 km) of smaller local sewers. Construction of the interceptor system required 318 million bricks, 2.7×10⁶ cubic metres (9.5×10⁷ cu ft) of excavated earth and 670,000 cubic metres (24,000,000 cu ft) of concrete.^[5] The innovative use of Portland cement strengthened the tunnels, which were in good order 150 years later.^[6]

Gravity allows the sewage to flow eastwards, but in places such as Chelsea, Deptford and Abbey Mills, pumping stations were built to raise the water and provide sufficient flow. Many sewers north of the Thames feed into the Northern Outfall Sewer, which transports sewage to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. South of the river, the Southern Outfall Sewer extends to a similar facility at Crossness. Smaller sewage treatment plants also serve areas further away from central London, such as at Mogden and Edmonton.

During the 20th century, major improvements were made to the sewerage system and to the sewage treatment provision to substantially reduce pollution of the Thames Estuary and the North Sea. The sewage works, from west to east, discharging into the tidal Thames in 1950-53 were:^[7]

Sewage works discharging into the tidal Thames (1950-53)
Sewage works	Miles from London Bridge	Flow, million gallons per day
Ham	17.3 above	0.15
Mogden	15.0	83.2
Richmond	12.1	5.7
Acton	9.8	3.1
Beckton	11.4 below	190.0
East Ham	11.7	4.5
Crossness	13.6	96.5
Dagenham	15.1	8.8
West Kent	19.4	22.6
Stone	20.9	0.3
Swanscombe	22.2	0.2
Northfleet	24.8	0.6
Tilbury	27.0	2.8
Gravesend	27.8	1.2
Stanford-le-Hope	32.1	0.4
Corringham	35.8	0.15
Nevendon	35.8	0.0
Pitsea	35.8	0.15
Canvey Island	37.1	0.15
South Benfleet	40.0	0.25
Leigh-on-Sea	40.0	0.45
Southend-on-Sea	44.6	6.6

Modern development needs

The original system was designed to cope with 6.5 mm (1/4") per hour of rainfall within the catchment area, and supported a smaller population than today's. London's growth has put pressure on the capacity of the sewerage system. During storms, for example, high levels of rainfall (in excess of 6 mm per hour) in a short period of time can overwhelm the system. Sewers and treatment works are unable to cope with the large volumes of rainwater entering the system. Rainwater mixes with sewage in combined sewers and excess mixed water is discharged into the Thames. If this does not happen quickly enough, localised flooding occurs (surcharge). Such sanitary sewer overflow can mean streets becoming flooded with a mixture of water and sewage, causing a health risk.^{[citation needed]}

In redeveloping the Isle of Dogs and Royal Docks areas of east London during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the London Docklands Development Corporation invested in major new drainage infrastructure to manage future sewage and surface water run-off from proposed developments. Consulting engineer Sir William Halcrow & Partners designed a system of large diameter tunnels served by new pumping stations. In the Royal Docks, approximately 16 miles (25 km) of foul and surface water drains were built, plus pumping stations at Tidal Basin (designed by Richard Rogers Partnership) and North Woolwich (architect: Nicholas Grimshaw).^[8] The Isle of Dogs drainage network is served by a stormwater pumping station situated in Stewart Street, designed by John Outram Associates.^[9]

Thames Tideway Scheme

Increasing the carrying capacity of London's sewerage system has been debated for some years. The new 'Thames Tideway' scheme includes a wide diameter storage-and-transfer tunnel (internal diameters of 7.2 m and 9 m have been suggested), 22 miles (35 km) long, underneath the riverbed of the Thames between Hammersmith in the west and Beckton/Crossness in the east.^[10] The cost of this megaproject is £4.9 billion,^[10] and it is due to be completed in 2024.^[11]

Literary or media references

The system plays a part in English writer Neil Gaiman's 1996 novel Neverwhere.
The system plays a part in Australian writer Michael Robotham's 2005 novel Lost (a.k.a. The Drowning Man).
It featured as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World in the BBC television series of the same name.
Eleanor Updale's Montmorency (beginning with Montmorency: Liar Thief Gentleman?) novels are set against the backdrop of construction of the London sewerage system.
The construction of the London sewer system is central to the plot of Anne Perry's 2006 novel Dark Assassin, in which the Great Stink is also mentioned.
The title character from Terry Pratchett's Dodger, based on the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, spends much of his time in London's sewers alongside notable historical figures including Bazalgette.
A BBC documentary entitled The Five Billion Pound Super Sewer focuses on the Thames Tideway Scheme.
Charles Palliser's novel The Quincunx features the old, pre-Bazalgette London sewers of the early nineteenth century in an extensive sub-plot.
The sewer system served as the hideout of Professor Ratigan in Disney's 1986 film The Great Mouse Detective.

Notes

^ Cadbury, Deborah (2003). Seven Wonders of the Industrial World. London and New York: Fourth Estate. pp. 165–6, 189–192.
^ Abellán 2017, p. 9.
^ Cadbury 2003, pp. 194–196.
^ Baker, Margaret (2002). Discovering London Statues and Monuments. Osprey Publishing. p. 125. ISBN 9780747804956.
^ Goodman, David C. and Chant, Colin (1999). European Cities and Technology (London: Routledge).
^ Cadbury 2003, p. 183.
^ Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (1964). Effects of Polluting Discharges on the Thames Estuary. London: HMSO. p. 82.
^ Royal Docks, LDDC Completion Booklet, 1998
^ "Pumping Station" – An 'Architectural Primer', John Outram. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
^ ^a ^b "Who will pay for the Thames Tideway Tunnel?". Thames Water. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
^ "Timeline". Tideway London. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

References

Abellán, Javier (2017). Water supply and sanitation services in modern Europe: developments in 19th-20th centuries. 12th International Conference of the Spanish Association of Economic History. University of Salamanca.
Johnson, Steven (2021). Extra Life (1st ed.). Riverhead Books. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-525-53885-1.
Skilton, David (2007) ‘"Sweet Thames, run softly": the Construction of a Clean River’, Literary London Journal 5 (March 2007) ISSN 1744-0807. http://literarylondon.org/the-literary-london-journal/archive-of-the-literary-london-journal/issue-5-1/
Trench, R. and Hillman, E. (1984) London Under London: A Subterranean Guide (London: John Murray).

External links

[1] Cadbury, Deborah (2003). Seven Wonders of the Industrial World. London and New York: Fourth Estate. pp. 165–6, 189–192.

[FOOTNOTEAbellán20179-2] Abellán 2017, p. 9.

[FOOTNOTECadbury2003194–196-3] Cadbury 2003, pp. 194–196.

[Baker-4] Baker, Margaret (2002). Discovering London Statues and Monuments. Osprey Publishing. p. 125. ISBN 9780747804956.

[5] Goodman, David C. and Chant, Colin (1999). European Cities and Technology (London: Routledge).

[FOOTNOTECadbury2003183-6] Cadbury 2003, p. 183.

[7] Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (1964). Effects of Polluting Discharges on the Thames Estuary. London: HMSO. p. 82.

[8] Royal Docks, LDDC Completion Booklet, 1998

[9] "Pumping Station" – An 'Architectural Primer', John Outram. Retrieved 2011-09-30.

[whowillpay-10] "Who will pay for the Thames Tideway Tunnel?". Thames Water. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[timeline-11] "Timeline". Tideway London. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

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v t e Water supply and sanitation in London
Companies	Affinity Water Anglian Water Essex and Suffolk Water SES Water Thames Water
Major infrastructure	Supply infrastructure Sewer system Northern Outfall Sewer Southern Outfall Sewer

v t e Thames Water
History	John Backhouse Joseph Bazalgette Edmund Colthurst Great Stink London sewer system London water supply Metropolitan Board of Works Metropolitan Water Board Hugh Myddelton William Chadwell Mylne New River Company New River John Snow William Webster 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak
Major projects	Abingdon Reservoir Thames Tideway Scheme, including Thames Tideway Tunnel and Lee Tunnel Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works Thames Water Ring Main
Infrastructure	Abbey Mills Pumping Station Beckton Sewage Treatment Works Coppermills Water Treatment Works Cricklewood Pumping Station Crossness Pumping Station Crossness Sewage Treatment Works Deephams Sewage Treatment Works Greenwich pumping station Hampton Water Treatment Works Mogden Sewage Treatment Works Walton water treatment works
Reservoirs	Banbury Reservoir Bath Road Reservoir Bessborough Reservoir Chingford Reservoirs East Warwick Reservoir Farmoor Reservoir Grimsbury Reservoir High Maynard Reservoir Island Barn Reservoir Kempton Park Reservoirs King George V Reservoir King George VI Reservoir Knight Reservoir Lee Valley Reservoir Chain Lockwood Reservoir Low Maynard Reservoir Molesey Reservoirs Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir Queen Mary Reservoir Queen Mother Reservoir Stain Hill Reservoirs Staines Reservoirs Sunnyside Reservoir Tilehurst Water Tower Walthamstow Reservoirs West Warwick Reservoir William Girling Reservoir Wraysbury Reservoir

v t e Metropolitan Board of Works
Boards of works	Fulham Greenwich Hackney Holborn Lee/Plumstead Lewisham Limehouse Poplar St Giles St Olave St Saviour's Strand Wandsworth Westminster Whitechapel	Headquarters at Spring Gardens
Incorporated vestries	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green Camberwell Chelsea Clerkenwell Fulham Hackney Hammersmith Hampstead Islington Kensington Lambeth Mile End Old Town Newington Paddington Plumstead Rotherhithe St George Hanover Square St George in the East St Luke's St Martin-in-the-Fields St Marylebone St Pancras Shoreditch Southwark St George the Martyr Stoke Newington Westminster St Margaret and St John Westminster St James Woolwich
Undertakings	Metropolitan Buildings Office Metropolitan Commission of Sewers Metropolitan Fire Brigade
Major works	Charing Cross Road Hammersmith Bridge London sewer system Northumberland Avenue Putney Bridge Southwark Street Shaftesbury Avenue Thames Embankment Waterloo Bridge
Legislation	Royal Commission on the City of London Metropolis Management Act 1855 Metropolis Management Amendment Act 1885 Local Government Act 1888 London Government Act 1899
People	Francis Fowler Frederick Marrable James McGarel-Hogg John Thwaites Joseph Bazalgette List of members

v t e History of London
Evolution	Londinium Lundenwic City of London City of Westminster Middlesex County of London Greater London Timeline
Periods	Roman London Anglo-Saxon London Norman and Medieval London Tudor London Stuart London 18th-century London 19th-century London 1900–1939 World War II (The Blitz) 1945–2000 21st century
Events	Coronations Peasants' Revolt Black Death Great Plague Great Fire 1854 cholera outbreak Great Stink Great Exhibition 1908 Franco-British Exhibition The Battle of Cable Street Festival of Britain Great Smog Abdication of Edward VIII Swinging London London Plan 1966 FIFA World Cup final Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings Anti-war protests 7/7 bombings Olympic Games 1908 1948 2012 2012 Summer Paralympics Grenfell Tower fire COVID-19 pandemic
Government	Historic Metropolitan Board of Works London County Council Greater London Council Current Greater London Authority London Assembly Mayor of London
Politics	Political parties Labour Conservatives Liberal Democrats London Green Party London independence
Services	Bow Street Runners Metropolitan Police London Ambulance Service London Fire Brigade Port of London Authority London sewer system London Underground London Metropolitan Archives
City of London	City of London Corporation Lord Mayor of the City of London Wards of the City of London Guildhall Livery Companies Lord Mayor's Show City of London Police Bank of England
Structures	St Paul's Cathedral Tower of London Palace of Whitehall Westminster Hall London Bridge Tower Bridge Westminster Abbey Big Ben The Monument Fortifications Scheduled monuments
Category