London super sewer ‘will open’ despite debt-ridden Thames Water facing collapse

Thames Water’s dire financial problems will not derail London’s new £4bn super sewer, the boss of the company behind the project has said.

Speaking from inside the 7m-wide concrete tunnel through which London’s sewage will eventually flow, Tideway CEO Andy Mitchell said he has “no doubt” the project will continue regardless of Thames Water's future.

Tideway is distinct from but funded by Thames Water, with its 15 million customers paying through their bills for the nearly-complete giant sewage pipe running underground along the bank of the river.

It has taken 20,000 people eight years to build, costing £4.5 billion, and is one of the largest engineering projects the capital has seen in recent years, stretching 25km from Acton to Beckton.

Once operational, expected to be spring or summer next year, the tunnel will cut sewage spills into London's iconic river by 95% by providing extra capacity and a reservoir for sewage waiting to be treated, the company said.

Mr Mitchell said: “The thing that we can be clear on is that you know that the taps will keep running, the toilets will keep flushing and this river will get cleaned up. There’s no doubt in my mind that that will continue.

“This is a particular time, but this tunnel is about cleaning up the river. No one’s ever going to say that’s not the right thing to do."

Asked whether the tunnel project will go ahead even if Thames Water collapses, he said: “I’m sure it will. It’s inconceivable that anything else would happen, that wouldn’t make sense.”

To celebrate its near completion, Tideway has created an artificial “Loo Gardens” inside the tunnel to represent the project’s main objective – to clean the river and allow nature to thrive.

In partnership with Time Out magazine, they are running a random ballot for 20 people with a plus one to be lowered in a boxed cage by crane down a 50m concrete shaft to see the gardens on July 10.

ITV News London Reporter Rags Martel cycles through London's 15 mile-long super sewer

Fake trees, flowers and hanging moss adorn the walls which will all be removed before the shaft is capped off forever in a few months.

The tunnel is designed to last 120 years but Mr Mitchell said it will probably still be in use after two or three centuries.

He said: “What happens next is really up to nature. What we know we will see is a much healthier river with younger and older fish and mammals that always would have been here and we clearly can expect to see them prosper."

The capital's sewage system was built more than 150 years ago, and was originally designed to cope with the waste of four million people.

Now, the creaking system can no longer handle nine million people using London's toilets.

As a result, every time there is any rain, excess waste is being dumped into the River Thames. Even a light drizzle of rain causes untreated sewage to spill into the Thames from London's Victorian sewer network. This adds up to tens of millions of tonnes every year.

The new 15 mile-long, 7.2 metres wide tunnel is being built to ease the pressure, intercepting, storing and transferring sewage waste away from the Thames.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...