Chingford is the focus of a new study by Thames Water to reduce the amount of pollution entering the River Ching from local homes. When household plumbing is wrongly connected it can have a damaging impact on the environment

The company's pollution prevention team is targeting two areas of the borough with information about misconnections, to find out whether residents become more aware of the problem and take action to help improve things.

The initiative is focusing on more than 3,500 properties in the E46 and E49 postcode areas, where it is thought the problem could affect up to one in ten houses.

Malcolm Dunk, Thames Water's Senior Wastewater Quality Consultant, said:

"Misconnections occur as a result of household plumbing being wrongly connected. This means wastewater from washing machines, showers, sinks and dishwashers can end up in rivers instead of the local sewage treatment works.

"The confusion can occur because drainage in most areas is divided between surface water sewers - which are connected to rivers or streams - and foul water sewers.

"Household appliances should be connected only to the foul water sewer, as surface water sewers are meant only to take rainwater."

Chingford is an area with a high proportion of properties thought to be polluting local rivers. The evidence is shown by figures from the Environment Agency, who is working with Thames to tackle this problem. They've identified two outfalls in particular, where pollution from local properties is entering the River Ching.

Malcolm continued:

"We're carrying out this study to see, firstly, whether we can raise the level of local knowledge about this issue and, secondly, whether we can encourage people to take direct action.

"We held a focus group in Chingford last year, where we found there's a general lack of knowledge about the drainage system, and virtually no knowledge about misconnections.

"We want people to take greater care when they are extending their properties, installing new equipment like washing machines or altering pipework. The key thing is to ensure appliances are not accidentally connected to a surface water sewer.

"If this approach is successful, we will consider using it in other areas where we are working."

Thames Water will be promoting the issue locally, including delivering leaflets to homes and putting up posters around the area. Staff will also be active in the E46 area, where they will be making studies of the local sewer network to try to trace the pollution and eradicate the source.