The Metropolis

VIDEO: It's been raining, so raw sewage flows into the river Thames

Mike Pollitt | Tuesday 25 September, 2012 10:49

●

When it rains, as it just has, much of that rainwater gets washed into the sewage system. Too much, in fact, for the sewer pipes to hold. So the water, mixed now with raw sewage, overflows out into the rivers, the Thames or the Lee.

This video, by Pete Fry last year, shows the effect on the Thames at Chelsea. It’s disgusting. This happens 50 or 60 times a year. It doesn’t take much rain to do it.

Thames Water have a cleaned-up graphic explaining it all in their promotional material for the proposed Super Sewer.

The proposed super sewer is a good thing.

See also:

Londonist – Trips into the sewage system at Abbey Mills and the Fleet river

Filed in:

Snipe Highlights

Some popular articles from past years

  1. An interview with Desiree Akhavan
  2. Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
  3. Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
  4. Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
  5. Silencing the Brick Lane curry touts could be fatal for the city's self-esteem
  6. The best church names in London, and where they come from
  7. London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
  8. Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
  9. Summer Camp: Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days
  10. A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners