Petition is launched in super-sewer fight
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
10/09/2008
Hammersmith and Fulham Council has launched a petition to oppose Thames Water's plan to dig a 30-metre-wide crater in one of the borough's beauty spots.
The council is bitterly opposing the super-sewer project on the basis that the cost, chaos from eight years of construction, and loss of open space outweighs any benefits.
The council has launched an online petition urging local residents to back its stance. H&F is also planning to hold a public meeting in late October.
Construction of the 20 mile long tunnel could result in the giant crater being dug on open space in the borough - possibly in Ravenscourt Park or Furnivall Gardens. In addition there would be five other smaller connecting shafts in the borough, each 10 metres wide.
The £2.5 billion cost is likely to paid for by Thames Water customers, with bills rising by as much as £200-a-head.
The Government wants Thames Water to build the tunnel so that it won’t have to pay hefty EU fines for water pollution.
H&F Council is calling for cross-London support against the scheme. In a letter to London Councils, which acts on behalf of all 33 local authorities in London, Council Leader Stephen Greenhalgh said: “We cannot afford to allow this appalling assault on the well-being of Londoners to be perpetrated.”
Cllr Greenhalgh said he fully accepts the need to prevent sewage seeping into the Thames, but said this plan is ‘not sustainable’.
He said: “While I don’t want to see raw sewage at all in the Thames, this benefit needs to be considered against the much greater environmental impact of eight years of major construction, severe traffic congestion in neighbouring roads and the substantial loss of green space.”
Cllr Greenhalgh added that over the last 20 years there have been enormous efforts to clean up the Thames. “It is now generally acknowledged as one of the cleanest metropolitan rivers in the world.”
He is calling for a debate on other solutions to the problem of sewage seepage, including separating surface water drainage from foul sewage, which he says, would boost reserve water supplies at a times when the Thames Gateway development is expected to increase demand by 8 per cent.
“We are not engineers, but we must look at other solutions to this problem,” said Councillor Greenhalgh. “The environmental benefits need to be weighed up against the environmental consequences of bulldozing a treasured open space with eight years of construction misery which would result in west London’s traffic grinding to a halt.”
Find the super-sewer petition at: http://tinyurl.com/5qxfsk (opens new window).
Questions and answers:
What is the ‘super sewer’?
The super-sewer would work more like a storage tank than a sewer, collecting combined rainwater and raw sewage that current overflows into the Thames during heavy rain. However, environmentalists say that pollution is decreasing and that the river has never been so clean.
Where would it run from and to?
Currently Thames Water say the sewer would run from the borough boundary between Hammersmith and Hounslow in the west to Beckton in the East.
Why does the start or end point have to be located in or around H&F?
Thames Water says that the tunnel has to run along the Thames to capture the existing combined sewer outfalls in the area. However, it has since clarified that the area does not necessarily conform to the borough boundary - it actually starts in Chiswick. Thames says that they need an area close to the river with good access points to roads. Furnivall Gardens is likely to be an option - although there are question marks over whether this is big enough. The only other major open space close to the Thames in the area designated is Ravenscourt Park and Frank Banfield Park.
How much construction work would there be? What would this mean?
To construct a hole 30 metres - or almost 100 feet - in diameter- roughly the size of Boeing 737 - you would probably need a space equivalent to three or four football pitches. Millions of tonnes of dirt would need to be excavated and transported by river with construction traffic coming in by road.
What happens next?
A decision on a location is likely to be taken next year with a planning application either late 2010 or early 2011 with works starting in 2012. As it stands, the project would be completed in 2020.
How can I object or get involved?
H&F Council has this week launched an online petition in which you can register your opposition to the scheme - http://tinyurl.com/5qxfsk (opens new window). A public meeting will be held in October when you will have the opportunity to quiz Thames Water officials.
