Thames Water has launched its 14-week public consultation on plans for the proposed Thames Tunnel, which will significantly reduce sewage discharges into the River Thames.

The ‘super-sewer’ is a major new infrastructure project to reduce the amount of untreated sewage flowing into capital’s rivers each year.

The tunnel will run up to 20 miles from its starting point in west London, and will broadly follow the route of the river at a depth of up to 75 metres, to the east of Tower Bridge before going one of three ways:

• north east to connect to the Lee Tunnel at Abbey Mills in Stratford - the shortest of the proposed routes;
• east following the river and crossing the Greenwich peninsular up to Beckton Sewage Works in Newham;
• or south east, straight to Greenwich and then on to Beckton.

Public exhibitions will be held across London from 27 September until 22 October 2010. Thames says that this will provide all interested parties with ample opportunity to understand and influence the development of the project, and have their say on the preferred route and construction sites.There are 57 overflow points along the river, which were originally built as a safety feature to prevent the sewers - which capture both sewage and rainfall - from backing up into streets and gardens when full.

Used only occasionally in the 19th century during a heavy storm, these overflows can now discharge sewage into the river after as little as just 2mm of rainfall. This happens around once a week on average.

“Coalition Government wants to press forward with tunnel”

Martin Baggs, Thames Water's Chief Executive, said:

"Allowing sewage to continue to overflow into the river at the current frequency is unacceptable. This causes significant environmental damage - killing fish, polluting the river for those who wish to use and enjoy it and affecting the wellbeing of our capital.

"We have got a plan to tackle this problem and have already started work on the £635m four-mile Lee Tunnel in east London and our £675m upgrades at London's five major sewage works."The proposed Thames Tunnel is the final and most challenging piece of the overall plan. The new coalition Government has told us it wants us to press forward with the tunnel, which is the most appropriate and cost-efficient way of tackling the big and growing problem of sewage entering the River Thames.

"We have done extensive studies to develop options for the tunnel route, which includes a solution that minimises the number of construction sites needed to build it, reducing disruption for London. It is now time for everyone to review these plans and tell us what they think. We haven't got all the answers but through this consultation and speaking to people with local knowledge, we aim to get them."

Thames Water, in parallel with the public consultation, will also be running question and answer sessions on Twitter via @thameswater, using the hash tag #thamestunnel, on Wednesday 15 September and Monday 27 September, both from 7pm.People can also take part in the consultation by visiting the Thames Tunnel consultation website: www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk.

Thames Water will review its plans in light of the feedback received, ahead of the second phase of public consultation in 2011. The target date for the submission of the planning application is mid 2012. Initial construction of the Thames Tunnel is provisionally scheduled to start in 2013 and finish in 2020.

London Assembly to discuss ‘super-sewer’

The London Assembly will today discuss the ‘super-sewer’ -  the Government recently gave its backing to the scheme. From 10am, members of the Committee will ask invited guests about the challenges in delivering the London Tideways Improvement Programme, what effect it will have on Londoners and what role the Mayor should play in the scheme.

The following people will attend:

• Richard Aylard, External Affairs and Sustainability Director, Thames Water
• Martin Powell, Interim Mayoral Advisor on the Environment
• Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader of the LB Hammersmith and Fulham
• Andrew Whetnall, Deputy Chairman, London and South East Committee, Consumer Council for Water

The meeting can be viewed online via webcast at: http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/webcasts