A 500m stretch of the 36 inch-wide pipe, running just outside the entrance to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), is being relined to reduce the risk of any disruptive leaks or bursts. The work is scheduled to finish before the ground doubles as a stage for the London 2012 Olympics Games archery competition.
The £1.5m project, due for completion in June, which will use a 'no-dig' method, is part of Thames Water’s ongoing efforts to reduce leakage in the capital. The section of pipe has a history of bursting so the utility is strengthening it to try and prevent any disruptive bursts in the future.
Mark Taylor, Thames Water’s programme delivery manager, said that having had below-average rainfall for 18 of the past 23 months, reducing water wastage from the network is currently the firm's top priority.
Thames Water has cut leakage by a third since its peak in 2004 by replacing more than 1,400 miles of old mains. Last year the company hit its leakage-reduction target for the fifth year in a row, and said it was determined to make it six from six this year.
In December, Thames Water finished working in Kilburn High Road, more than a month ahead of schedule, on a £2m project to re-line 1km of a 24-inch cast-iron pipe which had burst five times in three years.
Work to upgrade another Victorian water main in Seven Sisters Road was also completed last month, with more than 1km of 24-Inch cast-iron pipe relined using the same trenchless technology.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
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