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133-584: The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a deep-level sewer along the tidal section of the River Thames in London, running 25 kilometres (16 miles) from Acton in the west to Abbey Mills in the east, where it joins the Lee Tunnel which connects to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works . The tunnel is designed to capture almost all the raw sewage and rainwater from combined sewers which would otherwise overflow into

266-506: A 2006 report commissioned for Ofwat, Jacobs Babtie strongly recommended using the computer model of the existing system to do detailed studies of the effects of laying separate storm water pipes, but their advice and that from Ofwat in 2007 concerning the poor value of the tunnel was not followed. A number of parties questioned the integrity of the TTSS study, in particular the dismissal of separation and future SUDs / blue-green infrastructure as

399-539: A licence authority. The agency is funded in part from the UK government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Additional money is raised from the issuing of licences and permits such as abstraction licences, waste handler registrations, navigation rights and rod (fishing) licences. Funding for asset management and improvement and acquisition of flood risk management assets has traditionally come from local authorities via flood defence committees. This

532-455: A competitive process starting in the spring of 2013, would hold its own license from the industry regulator, Ofwat , and would build, manage and maintain the tunnel. In January 2013, it was announced the IP was to be delayed because Thames Water as main funder sought state financial assurances. This was a polemic. Opponents argued the government should not bear any such risks; Thames Water have noted

665-421: A completely separate system. In 2011, Washington, D.C. , separated its sewers in four small neighborhoods at a cost of $ 11 million. (The project cost also included improvements to the drinking water piping system.) Another solution is to build a CSO storage facility, such as a tunnel that can store flow from many sewer connections. Because a tunnel can share capacity among several outfalls, it can reduce

798-513: A discharge. The mean total of this was 39,000,000 m (3.9 × 10 L), that is 39 million tonnes, of storm sewage entering the river. These discharges, a mixture of raw sewage and rainwater, needed to be cut to comply with the EU's Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). If cut to such levels, it would thus restore the ecology of the river to that of 1865–70 or better, that is, before such unmitigated growth took place. Instigated in 2001,

931-569: A hapless victim into a manhole . Alligators have been known to get into combined storm sewers in the southeastern United States. Closed-circuit television by a sewer repair company captured an alligator in a combined storm sewer on tape. Environment Agency The Environment Agency ( EA ) is a non-departmental public body , established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government 's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs , with responsibilities relating to

1064-556: A high standard and based on sound science. The agency is the regulatory authority for all waste management activities including the licensing of sites such as landfill , incineration and recycling facilities. It also regulates the movement of hazardous wastes such as fibrous asbestos , infectious clinical wastes and harmful chemicals. The agency issues environmental permits to waste management sites and any individuals or companies found to have caused pollution or have infringed their licence conditions can be prosecuted. In serious cases

1197-401: A major portion of higher flow rates to leap over the interceptor into the diversion outfall. Alternatively, an orifice may be sized to accept the sewage treatment plant design capacity and cause excess flow to accumulate above the orifice until it overtops a side-overflow weir to the diversion outfall. CSO statistics may be confusing because the term may describe either the number of events or

1330-405: A municipality's sewage authority and its environmentally active organizations between gray and green infrastructural plans. The 2004 EPA Report to Congress on CSO's provides a review of available technologies to mitigate CSO impacts. Recent technological advances in sensing and control have enabled the implementation of real-time decision support systems (RT-DSS) for CSO mitigation. Through

1463-477: A planned $ 2.4 billion CSO investment put into operation, untreated discharges have been reduced by more than 20 billion US gallons (76,000,000 m ) per year. This investment that has yielded an 85 percent reduction in CSO has included numerous sewer separation, CSO storage and treatment facilities, and wastewater treatment plant improvements constructed by local and regional governments. Many other areas in

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1596-528: A report by consultants in 2001, these are estimated to prevent annual average damage costs of approximately £3.5 billion. The agency also invests in improving or providing new installations in areas where there remains a high risk of flooding, particularly where, because of the possible consequences, the damage risk is the highest. The Thames Barrier was completed long before the EA was created but more recent examples of major defences against coastal flooding include

1729-584: A round of interim engagement took place from March to August 2011. Residents around 11 specific sites were sent letters explaining that these sites were being considered as alternative sites, and invited to attend drop-in sessions to pose questions and gain a better understanding of the project. In total ten two-day sessions and one community liaison meeting were held. These were attended by over 800 people. In all 168 comment cards and 147 pieces of site specific correspondence were received and considered. Based on this first round of consultation and interim engagement it

1862-485: A shortlist of sites. The three tunnel routes, as well as the shortlist of sites, were then put out for consultation between September 2010 and January 2011. In total 2,389 feedback forms (both online and hard copy), 480 pieces of correspondence and five petitions were received. In response to the comments received, changes and improvements to some of the sites, including the potential use of alternative sites and alternative technical solutions, were considered. Based on this

1995-407: A single combined sewer system. Some CSO outfalls discharge infrequently, while others activate every time it rains. The storm water component contributes pollutants to CSO; but a major faction of pollution is the first foul flush of accumulated biofilm and sanitary solids scoured from the dry weather wetted perimeter of combined sewers during peak flow turbulence . Each storm is different in

2128-399: A single system. Most cities at that time did not have sewage treatment plants, so there was no perceived public health advantage in constructing a separate "surface water sewerage" (UK terminology) or " storm sewer " (US terminology) system. Moreover, before the automobile era, runoff was likely to be typically highly contaminated with animal waste. Further, until the mid-late 19th century

2261-415: A solution. Some groups that opposed the tunnel stated that it is an unsustainable 19th-century solution to a 21st-century problem. They argued that rainwater from roads should be sent directly to canals, rivers or the estuary, and that landowners could install soakaways for their roof run off, making them eligible for discounted water treatment bills. This would reduce pressure on the foul system and take away

2394-425: A storage capacity of 157 million US gallons (590,000 m ). The first segment of the tunnel system, 7 miles (11 km) in length, went online in 2018. The remaining segments of the storage system are scheduled for completion in 2023. (The city's overall "Clean Rivers" project, projected to cost $ 2.6 billion, includes other components, such as reducing stormwater flows .) The South Boston CSO Storage Tunnel

2527-509: Is a similar project, completed in 2011. Indianapolis , Indiana, is building underground storage capacity in the form of a 28-mile (45 km) 18-foot (5.5 m) diameter deep rock tunnel system which will connect the two existing wastewater treatment plants, and provide collection of discharge water from the various CSO sites located along the White River , Eagle Creek, Fall Creek , Pogue's Run , and Pleasant Run. Citizens Energy Group

2660-470: Is also responsible for increasing public awareness of flood risk, flood forecasting and warning and has a general supervisory duty for flood risk management. As of 2008 the Environment Agency also has a strategic overview role for all flood and coastal erosion risk management. The term "Flood Risk Management" in place of "Flood Defence" recognises that managed flooding is essential to meet

2793-694: Is around £22& per annum. The agency uses the registration fees of some 31,000 craft on the waterways to provide some of the income. The agency's responsibilities include the non-tidal River Thames , the Medway Navigation , River Wye and River Lugg , the Royal Military Canal and the Fens and Anglian systems . The Environment Agency is organising the Fens Waterways Link a major construction project to link rivers in

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2926-491: Is carried out in line with the National Planning Policy Framework . The agency provides technical advice on the flood risk assessment that must be submitted with most planning applications in flood risk areas. The agency also runs public awareness campaigns to inform those at risk who may be unaware that they live in an area that is prone to flooding, as well as providing information about what

3059-503: Is constructing a 4.5-mile (7.2 km), 14-foot (4.3 m) diameter, $ 180M tunnel under the 3RPORT (Three Rivers Protection and Overflow Reduction Tunnel) to address the myriad CSOs which outfall into the St. Mary's , St. Joseph , and Maumee Rivers . The 3RPORT is approximately 160 feet (49 m) below grade, and is anticipated to enter service in 2023. Some cities have expanded their basic sewage treatment capacity to handle some or all of

3192-510: Is implemented through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The policy defined water quality parameters for the safety of an ecosystem; it allowed for action that are site specific to control CSOs in most practical way for community; it made sure the CSO control is not beyond a community's budget; and allowed water quality parameters to be flexible, based upon

3325-410: Is less often used nowadays when constructing new sewer systems. Modern-day sewer designs exclude surface runoff by building sanitary sewers instead, but many older cities and towns continue to operate previously constructed combined sewer systems. The earliest sewers were designed to carry street runoff away from inhabited areas and into surface waterways without treatment. Before the 19th century, it

3458-646: Is managing the efforts to construct the first phases of the work, which includes a 250-foot (76 m) deep Deep Rock Tunnel Connector between the Belmont Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Southport Wastewater Treatment Plant. Additional tunnels will branch under the existing watercourses located in Indianapolis. The planned cost for the project will total $ 1.9 billion. Fort Wayne , Indiana,

3591-475: Is more commonly applied. Generating sufficient evidence that RTC is a suitable option for CSO mitigation remains problematic, although new performance methods might make this possible. There is in the UK a legal difference between a storm sewer and a surface water sewer. There is no right of connection to a storm-water overflow sewer under section 106 of the Water Industry Act. These are normally

3724-464: Is no guarantee that the current estimate will not be subject to further escalation. Less than a year later, in November 2011, a further £500 million was added to the estimate. Following detailed analysis it was decided that the best means to deliver the project would be through a regulated infrastructure provider (IP) as this would maximise value for money. The IP, originally to be formed through

3857-532: Is no limit on the amount of the fine and sentences of up to five years imprisonment may be imposed on those responsible for the pollution or on the directors of companies causing pollution. The agency has an important role in conservation and ecology specifically along rivers and in wetlands. More general responsibility for the countryside and natural environment in England falls to the organisation Natural England . The Environment Agency's activities support users of

3990-434: Is required by law under the provisions of a number of European Directives to be reported both to Parliament and to be made public. Some of these duties have been in force through predecessor agencies and as a consequence the agency maintains some long term data sets which in some cases such as the harmonised monitoring scheme exceed 30 years of consistent data collection. Monitoring is also carried out of many discharges to

4123-406: Is unique, a typical facility operation is as follows. Flows from the overloaded sewers are pumped into a basin that is divided into compartments. The first flush compartment captures and stores flows with the highest level of pollutants from the first part of a storm. These pollutants include motor oil , sediment, road salt , and lawn chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers ) that are picked up by

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4256-423: Is used to fund vital work to improve and protect fish and fisheries. Income generated is invested directly back into the angling community, improving fish stocks, boosting opportunities for anglers as well as undertaking fisheries enforcement, habitat improvement and fish rescues when needed. It is not used to fund wider water quality investigations or enforcement action. This is funded directly by government. After

4389-538: The Barbican Centre . Chaired by the Planning Inspectorate , this determined how the examination would be carried out, including consideration of more detailed hearings on site-specific matters, as well as project-wide issues. While the inspectors gave a commitment to consider the alternatives to the tunnel, in the event they were not reviewed as part of the examination. Government legislation and

4522-816: The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment adopted a Canada-wide Strategy for the Management of Municipal Wastewater Effluent including national standards to (1) remove floating material from combined sewer overflows, (2) prevent combined sewer overflows during dry weather, and (3) prevent development or redevelopment from increasing the frequency of combined sewer overflows. Rehabilitation of combined sewer systems to mitigate CSOs require extensive monitoring networks which are becoming more prevalent with decreasing sensor and communication costs. These monitoring networks can identify bottlenecks causing

4655-572: The Canal & River Trust , the Environment Agency is the second largest navigation authority in the United Kingdom managing navigation for 634 miles (1,020 km) of England's rivers. The Agency's lock-keepers maintain and operate systems of sluices , weirs and locks to manage water-levels for navigation, and where necessary to control flooding. Annual spending to maintain these installations, with an estimated replacement value of £700M,

4788-505: The Environment Act 1995 , section 4). Protection of the environment relates to threats such as flood and pollution. The vision of the agency is of "a rich, healthy and diverse environment for present and future generations". The Environment Agency's remit covers almost the whole of England, about 13 million hectares of land, 22,000 miles (35,000 km) of river and 3,100 miles (5,000 km) of coastline seawards to

4921-716: The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) which provides warnings of flooding which may affect England and Wales. Formed in 2009, the FFC is based in the Operations Centre at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter . The agency is the main regulator of discharges to air, water, and land – under the provisions of a series of Acts of Parliament. It does this through the issue of formal consents to discharge or, in

5054-660: The Great Lakes Water Authority . These basins are located at original combined sewer outfalls located along the Detroit River and Rouge River within metropolitan Detroit. These facilities are generally designed to contain two inches of stormwater runoff , with the ability to disinfect overflows during extreme wet-weather rainfall events. Screening and disinfection facilities treat CSO without ever storing it. Called "flow-through" facilities, they use fine screens to remove solids and sanitary trash from

5187-745: The Medmerry managed realignment scheme in West Sussex in 2013. Recent examples of major inland flood prevention schemes include the Jubilee River . The Environment Agency provides flood forecasting and warning systems and maintains maps of areas liable to flood, as well as preparing emergency plans and responding when an event occurs. The Environment Agency carries out an advisory function in development control – commenting on planning applications within flood risk areas, providing advice to assist planning authorities in ensuring that any development

5320-601: The River Dee in England and EA staff exercise operational responsibility for those parts of the River Severn catchment in Wales. The Environment Agency employs around 10,600 staff. It is organised into eight directorates that report to the chief executive. There are two "policy and process" directorates. One deals with Flood and Coastal Risk Management and the other with Environment and Business. These are backed up by

5453-614: The River Restoration Centre at Cranfield University . Until the formation of the Environment Agency, the Government took specialist advice on the management of the environment from civil servants employed in appropriate ministries. This led to considerable duplication of effort and frequent disagreements between Government and the regulatory agencies. The Environment Agency now advises Government directly about those issues within its purview. The operational arm of

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5586-465: The River Tweed and River Solway catchments where special arrangements exist with SEPA to avoid duplication but retain management on a catchment basis. Complex arrangements exist for the management of river regulation reservoirs , which are used to store winter water in the wetter parts of England to maintain levels in the summer time so that there is sufficient water to supply the drier parts of

5719-458: The Severn bore . The EA operates a variety of equipment and machinery along with a transport fleet in order to carry out the specialised duties of its officers, namely in survey, incident response and monitoring. Due to the remit of the EA, this includes land vehicles, marine vessels and light aircraft. The agency uses its influence and provides education to change attitudes and behaviour towards

5852-562: The engravings of imaginary prisons by Piranesi were inspired by the Cloaca Maxima , one of the world's earliest sewers. The theme of traveling through, hiding, or even residing in combined sewers is a common plot device in media. Famous examples of sewer dwelling are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Stephen King's It , Les Misérables , The Third Man , Ladyhawke , Mimic , The Phantom of

5985-403: The 19th and early to mid-20th century used single-pipe systems that collect both sewage and urban runoff from streets and roofs (to the extent that relatively clean rooftop rainwater was not saved in butts and cisterns for drinking and washing.) This type of collection system is referred to as a "combined sewer system". The rationale for combining the two was that it would be cheaper to build just

6118-477: The COVID-19 pandemic, additional costs of £233m were incurred. The 2021-22 annual report gave an updated cost of £4.3bn. The final cost was £5bn. Built between 1859 and 1875, Sir Joseph Bazalgette 's original London sewerage system was designed to capture both rainwater and the sewage produced by four million people. As a failsafe, to prevent sewage backing up and flooding people's homes, Bazalgette's system had

6251-612: The CSO volume. In 2002 litigation forced the city of Toledo, Ohio , to double its treatment capacity and build a storage basin in order to eliminate most overflows. The city also agreed to study ways to reduce stormwater flows into the sewer system. ( See Reducing stormwater flows .) Retention treatment basins or large concrete tanks that store and treat combined sewage are another solution. These underground structures can range in storage and treatment capacity from 2 million US gallons (7,600 m ) to 120 million US gallons (450,000 m ) of combined sewage. While each facility

6384-506: The Environment Agency as a whole and is responsible for the appointment of the chairman and the Environment Agency board. In addition the Secretary of State is responsible for overall policy on the environment and sustainable development within which the agency undertakes its work; the setting of objectives for the agency's functions and its contribution to sustainable development; the approval of its budget and payment of government grant to

6517-484: The Environment Agency consists of 14 areas, all of which report to the Director of Operations. As of April 2014, the Environment Agency removed its regional level of administration (formerly Anglian Region, Midlands Region, North West Region, South East Region, South West Region and Yorkshire & North East Region) to be replaced by an "area once, national once" model. The 14 area names were also changed to better reflect

6650-410: The Environment Agency has the power to revoke the environmental permits issued to sites that contravene the conditions of their permits stopping all waste handling activities. The agency has a duty to maintain and improve the quality of surface waters and ground-waters and, as part of the duty, it monitors the quality of rivers, lakes, the sea and groundwater on a regular basis. Much of this information

6783-578: The European, national and local level. Local authorities regulate air pollution from smaller industrial processes. The agency works with local authorities, National Highways and others to implement the UK government's air quality strategy in England as mandated in the Environment Act 1995 . The Environment Agency has an Air Quality Modelling and Assessment Unit (AQMAU) that aims to ensure that air quality assessments for permit applications, enforcement and air pollution incident investigations are consistent, of

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6916-459: The Evidence directorate. The fourth directorate is a single Operations "delivery" unit, responsible for national services, and line management of all the regional and area staff. The remaining directorates are central shared service groups for Finance, Legal Services, Resources and Communications. In support of its aims, the agency acts as an operating authority , a regulatory authority and

7049-645: The Fens and Anglian Systems for navigation. The first stage is the South Forty-Foot Drain . Functions in relation to most canals are undertaken by the Canal and River Trust . The Environment Agency is the harbour authority for Rye and the conservancy authority for the Dee Estuary . The Environment Agency has also published information about tidal bores , these being the Trent Aegir and

7182-637: The Frogmore Connection Tunnel from Wandsworth to Fulham. The TBM for the east section from Bermondsey was named after doctor Selina Fox who set up Bermondsey Medical Mission for Southwark's poor and disadvantaged residents. The machine for the Greenwich Connection Tunnel was named after Annie Scott Dill Russell , the first female scientist to work at the Greenwich Observatory . In October 2012,

7315-602: The IP) for up to three packages of work valued at around £500m each started in the summer of 2013. On 29 July, Thames Water announced that a contract notice for work on the tunnel had been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Following prequalification questionnaires, Thames Water invited shortlisted contractors to tender between November 2013 and April 2014. The successful contractors for

7448-598: The NPSWW required that all efforts be made to reduce carbon emissions in new projects, but the examiners did not manage to study this issue. Once the Inspectorate concluded its examination of the application, a recommendation on whether or not to issue a development consent order would be submitted to ministers to make the final decision. On 12 September 2014, the UK Government approved the plans, overriding some of

7581-754: The Opera , Beauty and the Beast , and Jet Set Radio Future . The Todd Strasser novel Y2K-9: the Dog Who Saved the World is centered on a dog thwarting terroristic threats to electronically sabotage American sewage treatment plants. A well-known urban legend , the sewer alligator , is that of giant alligators or crocodiles residing in combined sewers, especially of major metropolitan areas. Two public sculptures in New York depict an alligator dragging

7714-705: The Thames Tideway Strategic Study, conducted by a group comprising Thames Water, the Environment Agency , DEFRA and the Greater London Authority , was intended to assess the impact of the CSO discharges into the Thames and to identify objectives and propose potential solutions, while keeping costs and benefits in mind. After four years, the Thames Tideway Strategic Study report was published in 2005, and outlined

7847-514: The US are undertaking similar projects (see, for example, in the Puget Sound of Washington). Cities like Pittsburgh , Seattle , Philadelphia , and New York are focusing on these projects partly because they are under federal consent decrees to solve their CSO issues. Both up-front penalties and stipulated penalties are utilized by EPA and state agencies to enforce CSO-mitigating initiatives and

7980-482: The US have combined sewer systems, serving about 40   million people. Pollutants from CSO discharges can include bacteria and other pathogens , toxic chemicals, and debris. These pollutants have also been linked with antimicrobial resistance , posing serious public health concerns. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a policy in 1994 requiring municipalities to make improvements to reduce or eliminate CSO-related pollution problems. The policy

8113-555: The ability to overflow into the Thames via 57 combined sewer overflows (CSOs) along the banks of the river. In 2001, London's population density was 18,457 people per square kilometre, compared to just 6,825 per square kilometre in Bazalgette's day. As the population grew, so did development, and this altered the natural drainage of the sewerage catchment so that more rainfall flowed into London's sewers, rather than being naturally absorbed into permeable ground. A permeable area twice

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8246-454: The agency for its activities in England and approval of its regulatory and charging regimes. Its chief executive is Sir James Bevan. Sir Philip Dilley resigned as chairman on 11 January 2016, with Emma Howard Boyd becoming acting chair. Emma Howard Boyd took up the post of chair formally on 19 September 2016. The Environment Agency was created by the Environment Act 1995 , and came into existence on 1 April 1996. It had responsibility for

8379-417: The agency's sponsoring government departments. Approximately half the agency's expenditure is on flood risk management, and a third is spent on environment protection (pollution control). Of the remainder, 12% goes to water resources , and 6% to other water functions including navigation and wildlife. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has the lead sponsorship responsibility for

8512-510: The application was valid and whether the consultation undertaken was adequate. On 27 March 2013, it was decided that the application was valid and that Thames Water's consultation for the project had been adequate. All the application documents were made available in their own section of the Planning Inspectorate's National Infrastructure website. Thames Water also made the documents available for scrutiny at six public places along

8645-417: The aquatic environment including sewage effluents and trade and agricultural discharges. The agency manages the use and conservation of water through the issue of water abstraction licences for activities such as drinking water supply, artificial irrigation and hydro-electricity generation. The agency is in charge of inland rivers, estuaries and harbours in England. Its remit also extends into Scotland in

8778-401: The average dry weather sewage flows. It is generally infeasible to treat the volume of mixed sewage and surface runoff flowing in a combined sewer during peak runoff events caused by snowmelt or convective precipitation . As cities built sewage treatment plants, those plants were typically built to treat only the volume of sewage flowing during dry weather. Relief structures were installed in

8911-468: The case of large, complex or potentially damaging industries by means of a permit. Failure to comply with such a consent or permit or making a discharge without the benefit of a consent can lead to criminal prosecution. A magistrates' court can impose fines of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment for each offence of causing or knowingly permitting pollution. If prosecuted in the Crown Court , there

9044-549: The collection system to bypass untreated sewage mixed with surface runoff during wet weather, protecting sewage treatment plants from damage caused if peak flows reached the headworks . These relief structures, called "storm-water regulators" (in American English - or "combined sewer overflows" in British English ) are constructed in combined sewer systems to divert flows in excess of the peak design flow of

9177-418: The combined sewage. Flows are injected with sodium hypochlorite for disinfection and mixed as they travel through a series of fine screens to remove debris. The fine screens have openings that range in size from 4 to 6 mm, or a little less than a quarter inch. The flow is sent through the facility at a rate that provides enough time for the sodium hypochlorite to kill bacteria. All of the materials removed by

9310-688: The construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Thames Water sought feedback on the proposed tunnel routes and potential locations of construction sites. Three tunnel routes were considered: A long list of 373 potential sites was created using a desktop survey of the land on either side of the 34 most polluting CSOs (as identified in the Thames Tideway Strategic Report). These sites were then further evaluated against more detailed planning, engineering, environmental, property and community considerations resulting in

9443-638: The country with drinking water. The Environment Agency fisheries service has a statutory duty to maintain, improve and develop migratory and freshwater fisheries as set out in the Environment Act 1995. The interpretation of this is set out in Ministerial guidance as: The Environment Agency has the power under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 to license fishing for salmon trout, freshwater fish, eels, lamprey and smelt and to set duties for

9576-482: The deadline of the tunnels' Section 48 consultation closed. This lasted 12 weeks and was the last opportunity for the public to have their say on the updated proposal. The Application for Development Consent – for the final, detailed plan for the construction – was delivered to the Planning Inspectorate on 28 February 2013. It included a relatively recent quite inaccurate study of Separation. The Inspectorate then had 28 days to decide whether

9709-421: The depth, the amount of flow they need to carry and the geology. The shaft would be a concrete cylinder with an internal diameter of 6–24 m (20–79 ft) and 20–60 m (66–197 ft) deep. Ventilation structures at CSO sites to allow air in and out of the shaft were also required. Construction at these sites was expected to take between 2½ and 3½ years and once complete each site would be landscaped. At

9842-467: The efficiency of their schedules. Municipalities' sewage departments, engineering and design firms, and environmental organizations offer different approaches to potential solutions. Some US cities have undertaken sewer separation projects—building a second piping system for all or part of the community. In many of these projects, cities have been able to separate only portions of their combined systems. High costs or physical limitations may preclude building

9975-431: The environment are commented on in any detail. For many years the agency has been offering strong advice against the development of land in floodplains because of the risk of flooding. Whilst in some instances, this advice may not have been appreciated in its entirety, in a large number of cases this advice has been used to reach decisions on planning applications. The Environment Agency is also an advisory board member of

10108-524: The environment. Action, in several policy areas, is directed towards business and commerce at all levels, children in education, the general public and government and local government. This last area is quite distinct from the agency's statutory role to advise government. In local government planning processes, the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee on all planning matters from county strategic plans down to individual planning applications. In reality only those applications judged to pose special risks to

10241-460: The feedback received, the proposed route was finalised as the Abbey Mills route and the preferred construction and drive sites were identified. Several sites were also identified as needing further, targeted consultation which resulted in further refinement and improvement of designs at those sites. To build the Thames Tideway Tunnel, four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) were needed to excavate

10374-529: The findings of the Planning Inspectorate. The decision gave rise to at least three Judicial Reviews. The budget for the scheme steadily increased since it was first estimated. For example, the budget in 2004 was estimated at £1.7bn, which included the East Ham to Stratford part and sewage treatment works upgrade costs. In the words of the Consumer Council for Water in 2011: The estimated cost of

10507-429: The fire spread quickly in the inside of the wall leading to substantial smoke damage throughout. The building was quickly evacuated and the fire under control in under an hour. The resulting internal document proposed additional standards for the handling of materials that offer environmental advantages but may be considered more susceptible to ignition. On 1 April 2013, that part of the Environment Agency covering Wales

10640-458: The flood warning codes and symbols mean and how to respond in the event of a flood. The agency operates Floodline , a 24-hour telephone helpline on flooding. Floodline covers England, Wales and Scotland but not Northern Ireland, and provides information and advice including property flood-risk checks, flood warnings, and flood preparation advice. In partnership with the Met Office it runs

10773-420: The flows to move to the end of the compartment. During this time, bacteria are killed and large solid materials settle out. At the end of the compartment, any remaining sanitary trash is skimmed off the top and the treated flows are discharged into the river or lake. The City of Detroit , Michigan, utilizes a system of nine CSO retention basins and screening/disinfection facilities that are owned and operated by

10906-465: The following objectives: Four potential strategies were discussed: After evaluation of alternatives it was decided that only one strategy, the screening, storage or treatment at the point of discharge, would meet the estuary objectives fully. The remainder were found to be either impractical or insufficient to provide a solution, although the evidence from the outer London Boroughs is that separated storm drainage can sustainably prevent all pollution. In

11039-541: The frequent use of shambles contributed more waste. The widespread replacement of horses with automotive propulsion, paving of city streets and surfaces, construction of municipal slaughterhouses, and provision of mains water in the 20th century changed the nature and volume of urban runoff to be initially cleaner, include water that formerly soaked away and previously saved rooftop rainwater after combined sewers were already widely adopted. When constructed, combined sewer systems were typically sized to carry three to 160 times

11172-650: The government faced EU fines if the work was not done. In a letter to the Financial Times in November 2012, Sir Ian Byatt (former Director General of Ofwat) and politician Simon Hughes MP stated: If Thames is unwilling to make a rights issue, the owners, Macquarie, should be expected to return funds to the utility. If they do not, Thames should go into special administration (allowing for continued service to customers) and another company or financier allowed to take over its activities. However, procurement for main contractors (who would eventually be contracted to

11305-634: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. The image of the sewer recurs in European culture as they were often used as hiding places or routes of escape by the scorned or the hunted, including partisans and resistance fighters in World War ;II . Fighting erupted in the sewers during the Battle of Stalingrad . The only survivors from the Warsaw Uprising and Warsaw Ghetto made their final escape through city sewers. Some have commented that

11438-427: The licence award, it also trades as Tideway. On 3 November 2015, the award was made by Ofwat , ensuring the start of the project. Started in 2016, the project was due to be completed by 2024. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed this to early 2025. The estimated capital cost – excluding financing, operations and maintenance  – was £3.8bn with an additional £1.1bn for preparatory works. Due to

11571-1120: The load on individual tributary branches of the sewer system may cause a back-up to a point where raw sewage flows out of input sources such as toilets, causing inhabited buildings to be flooded with a toxic sewage-runoff mixture, incurring massive financial burdens for cleanup and repair. When combined sewer systems experience these higher than normal throughputs, relief systems cause discharges containing human and industrial waste to flow into rivers, streams, or other bodies of water. Such events frequently cause both negative environmental and lifestyle consequences, including beach closures, contaminated shellfish unsafe for consumption, and contamination of drinking water sources, rendering them temporarily unsafe for drinking and requiring boiling before uses such as bathing or washing dishes. Mitigation of combined sewer overflows include sewer separation, CSO storage, expanding sewage treatment capacity, retention basins , screening and disinfection facilities, reducing stormwater flows, green infrastructure and real-time decision support systems . This type of gravity sewer design

11704-490: The main CSO problem, or aid in the calibration of hydrodynamic or hydrological models to enable cost effective CSO mitigation. Municipalities in the US have been undertaking projects to mitigate CSO since the 1990s. For example, prior to 1990, the quantity of untreated combined sewage discharged annually to lakes, rivers, and streams in southeast Michigan was estimated at more than 30 billion US gallons (110,000,000 m ) per year. In 2005, with nearly $ 1 billion of

11837-567: The main drive sites, four main activities took place: shaft construction (where a concrete cylinder 25–30 m (82–98 ft) in diameter and about 40–60 m (130–200 ft) deep was constructed), tunnelling preparations (preparing the site for arrival of the TBM), TBM assembly and lowering into the shaft, and then driving the TBM to excavate the main tunnel. As the TBM moved forward, precast concrete segments were brought in and fixed together to create

11970-434: The main tunnel plus two others for smaller connection tunnels. It also required two types of construction sites: main tunnel sites, where the TBM was either launched or received, and CSO sites, where interception tunnels and a connection culvert were built to connect the existing sewer to the new tunnel. Construction of the shafts at the CSO sites, to transfer flows from the existing sewer to the tunnel, would vary depending on

12103-586: The need for storm discharges to the river: These intend to improve the standard to which the sewage is treated, thus improving the Tideway 's water quality. The final part is the Thames Tideway Tunnel. When built, it intercepts the outflows from London's most polluting CSOs, stores them and directs (conveys) them to sewage treatment works for processing. Following the Thames Tideway Strategic Study, Thames Water consulted with relevant authorities to get feedback from stakeholders who would potentially be affected by

12236-546: The need for the tunnel. In November 2010 the draft National Policy Statement for Waste Water (NPSWW) was issued, and eventually published largely unaltered, despite Parliamentary objections that it promoted the Tideway Tunnel as the only solution. The three-part solution to implement screening, storage and treatment was collectively known as the London Tideway Improvements. This earliest phase

12369-494: The number of relief structure locations at which such events may occur. A CSO event, as the term is used in American English, occurs when mixed sewage and stormwater are bypassed from a combined sewer system control section into a river, stream, lake, or ocean through a designed diversion outfall , but without treatment. Overflow frequency and duration varies both from system to system, and from outfall to outfall, within

12502-501: The pipe line that discharges to a watercourse, downstream of a combined sewer overflow. It takes the excess flow from a combined sewer. A surface water sewer conveys rainwater; legally there is a right of connection for rainwater to this public sewer. A public storm water sewer can discharge to a public surface water, but not the other way around, without a legal change in sewer status by the water company. Combined sewer systems were common when urban sewerage systems were first developed, in

12635-634: The predecessor bodies were disbanded and the local authorities relinquished their waste regulatory role. At the same time, the agency took responsibility for issuing flood warnings to the public, a role previously held by the police. In 2010 a new national headquarters for the agency was opened at Horizon House in Deanery Road, Bristol . The building, which was designed by Alec French Architects, received Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment ( BREEAM ) certification for its environmentally friendly construction and operation which includes

12768-620: The project has escalated, from £1.7bn in 2004 (including Stratford to East Ham part and sewage treatment civil engineering construction movements (STW) costs) to £2.2bn in 2007 (also including Lee Tunnel and STW costs) to £3.6bn now for the shorter Thames Tunnel as far as Abbey Mills, plus some £1bn for the Lee Tunnel and upgrade of works at Beckton. The total costs of all the Tideway schemes have therefore increased from £1.7bn six years ago to £4.6bn today (all costs at relevant year prices). There

12901-491: The protection and enhancement of the environment in England (and until 2013 also Wales). Based in Bristol , the Environment Agency is responsible for flood management, waste management , regulating land and water pollution, and conservation. The Environment Agency's stated purpose is, "to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole" so as to promote "the objective of achieving sustainable development " (taken from

13034-502: The provision of fishing licences. Fishing licence income along with a small amount of Grant in Aid (GiA) provides the funding to deliver the statutory duty to maintain, improve and develop freshwater and migratory fisheries, including the current fisheries service provided to recreational anglers. The EA's funding principles mean that income from the sale of fishing licences is entirely ringfenced re-invested back into fisheries work. Many of

13167-401: The quantity and type of pollutants it contributes. For example, storms that occur in late summer, when it has not rained for a while, have the most pollutants. Pollutants like oil, grease, fecal coliform from pet and wildlife waste, and pesticides get flushed into the sewer system. In cold weather areas, pollutants from cars, people and animals also accumulate on hard surfaces and grass during

13300-437: The requirements of a sustainable flood strategy. It is often not economically feasible or even desirable to prevent all forms of flooding in all locations, and so the Environment Agency uses its powers to reduce either the likelihood or consequences of flooding. The Environment Agency is responsible for operating, maintaining and replacing an estimated £20 billion worth of flood risk management (FRM) installations. According to

13433-467: The river during heavy rain. The sewage can be stored in the tunnel until it can be treated at Beckton. Construction of the Tideway Tunnel began in 2016 and the first sewage flowed into the tunnel in September 2024. It is expected to be fully operational in 2025 at a cost of £5bn. The main tunnel has an internal diameter of 7.2 m (24 ft) and runs at a depth of between 30 m (98 ft) at

13566-429: The rivers and the estuary, would reduce carbon emissions, and be cheaper in the long term, than the multitude of pumped water tanks otherwise needed to stop homes flooding plus the Tideway tunnel. Pipes would be laid in a number of streets in each Borough each year over say twenty years, limiting traffic diversions. By 2011 overflows into the river took place more than once a week and as little as 2mm of rainfall can trigger

13699-560: The rivers and wetlands, including anglers and boaters. The agency states that they take a "leading role in limiting and preparing for the impacts of climate change." The agency is a regulator for the release of air pollutants into the atmosphere from large, complex industrial processes. This will soon include emissions from some large-scale agricultural activities, but air pollutant releases from many agricultural activities will continue to be unregulated. Major sources of air pollution, such as transport, are subject to various measures at

13832-483: The route, three either side of the river. On 3 June 2013, it was announced that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had appointed inspectors Jan Bessell, Libby Gawith, Emrys Parry, Andrew Phillipson and David Prentis as the examining authority to consider any matters arising. As part of this process, interested parties were able to make representations. A preliminary meeting, open to those who had registered an interest, began on 12 September 2013 at

13965-488: The screens are then sent to the sewage treatment plant through the interceptor sewer. Communities may implement low impact development techniques to reduce flows of stormwater into the collection system. This includes: CSO mitigating initiatives that are solely composed of sewer system reconstruction are referred to as gray infrastructure, while techniques like permeable pavement and rainwater harvesting are referred to as green infrastructure . Conflict often occurs between

14098-436: The sewage treatment plant. Combined sewers are built with control sections establishing stage-discharge or pressure differential-discharge relationships which may be either predicted or calibrated to divert flows in excess of sewage treatment plant capacity. A leaping weir may be used as a regulating device allowing typical dry-weather sewage flow rates to fall into an interceptor sewer to the sewage treatment plant, but causing

14231-475: The sewer system rather than at the CSO relief structures. Absence of a diversion outfall often causes sanitary sewer overflows to flood residential structures and/or flow over traveled road surfaces before reaching natural drainage channels. Sanitary sewer overflows may cause greater health risks and environmental damage than CSOs if they occur during dry weather when there is no precipitation runoff to dilute and flush away sewage pollutants. About 860 communities in

14364-507: The sewershed to coordinate and optimize control assets. By maximizing storage and conveyance RT-DSS are able to minimize overflows using existing infrastructure. Successful implementations of RT-DSS have been carried out throughout the United States and Europe. Real-time control (RTC) can be either heuristic or model based. Model-based control is theoretically more optimal, but due to the ease of implementation, heuristic control

14497-1125: The site specific conditions. The CSO Control Policy required all publicly owned treatment works to have "nine minimum controls" in place by January 1, 1997, in order to decrease the effects of sewage overflow by making small improvements in existing processes. In 2000 Congress amended the Clean Water Act to require the municipalities to comply with the EPA policy. Mitigation of combined sewer overflows include sewer separation, CSO storage, expanding sewage treatment capacity, retention basins , screening and disinfection facilities, reducing stormwater flows, green infrastructure and real-time decision support systems . For example, cities with combined sewer overflows employ one or more engineering approaches to reduce discharges of untreated sewage, including: The United Kingdom Environment Agency identified unsatisfactory intermittent discharges and issued an Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive requiring action to limit pollution from combined sewer overflows. In 2009,

14630-614: The six TBMs. They were named after female pioneers of their fields linked to where each began to dig. One began tunnelling from Fulham in 2018, the Rachel Parsons , after the engineer and advocate for women's employment rights, who set up the first women-only engineering company in Fulham. The others were cryobiologist Audrey 'Ursula' Smith and suffragist Millicent Fawcett for the Central area and suffragist Charlotte Despard for

14763-596: The size of Hyde Park was lost to hard surfacing every year up to 2001. In the 2011 census returns Greater London hosted just over 8.1 million residents and Thames Water in a leaflet of that year explained how its works and how sewers needed expansion. The older inner boroughs have combined sewerage systems which cannot cope with the extra hard standings. As London continued to grow the new developments and suburbs were equipped with separated foul water and rainwater drainage pipe work. Extending such separate systems would stop sewage flooding of homes and businesses, as well as into

14896-624: The societal and environmental outcomes the fisheries service currently deliver, and aspire to deliver on a greater scale, is through partnership working. Working with partners such as the Angling Trust, the Wild Trout Trust and the Riverfly partnership allows the EA to maximise fishing licence income through match funding to deliver against key benefits for fishing and fisheries across the country. Income from fishing licence sales

15029-414: The stormwater as it runs off roads and lawns. The flows from this compartment are stored and sent to the wastewater treatment plant when there is capacity in the interceptor sewer after the storm. The second compartment is a treatment or flow-through compartment. The flows are disinfected by injecting sodium hypochlorite , or bleach, as they enter this compartment. It then takes about 20‑30 minutes for

15162-607: The three main tunnelling contracts were announced in February 2015: In August 2015, the independent investors to finance and deliver the scheme were confirmed. Bazalgette Tunnel Limited, a new special-purpose company appointed to take the project forward, received its licence from Ofwat as a new regulated utilities business, separate from Thames Water. The special-purpose company is backed by pension funds and other long-term investors represented by Allianz , Amber Infrastructure Group , Dalmore Capital and DIF. The funding scheme used

15295-671: The three-mile limit which includes 2 million hectares of coastal waters. In a sharing arrangement with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), it also exercises some of its functions over parts of the catchments of the River Tweed and the Border Esk which are, for the most part, in Scotland . Similarly, in an arrangement with NRW , political and operational areas are not coterminus. NRW staff exercise responsibility for parts of

15428-400: The total volume of storage that must be provided for a specific number of outfalls. Storage tunnels store combined sewage but do not treat it. When the storm is over, the flows are pumped out of the tunnel and sent to a wastewater treatment plant. One of the main concerns with CSO storage is the length of time it is stored before it is released. Without careful management of this storage period,

15561-424: The tunnel wall. Excavated material would be transported out the tunnel via a conveyor belt and processed before being taken off-site. In order to minimise disruption, Thames Water committed to use the river as much as possible to transport materials both in and out of the construction sites. At the main tunnelling sites, work was expected to occur 24 hours a day. In 2017, the public voted on a short-list of 17 to name

15694-499: The use of internet of things technology and cloud computing , CSO events can now be mitigated by dynamically adjusting setpoints for movable gates, pump stations, and other actuated assets in sewers and storm water management systems. Similar technology, called adaptive traffic control is used to control the flow of vehicles through traffic lights. RT-DSS systems take advantage of storm temporal and spatial variability as well as varying concentration times due to diverse land uses across

15827-416: The use of sustainable materials, natural ventilation and cooling, photoelectric panels and rainwater harvesting . On 24 April 2013, Horizon House suffered a fire leading to its closure for several weeks. An investigation into the fire found it was that result of workmen accidentally igniting the environmentally friendly cavity wall insulation on the ground floor and due to the design of the upward airflow

15960-513: The water in the CSO storage facility runs the risk of going septic. Washington, D.C. , is building underground storage capacity as its primary strategy to address CSOs. In 2011, the city began construction on a system of four deep storage tunnels, adjacent to the Anacostia River , that will reduce overflows to the river by 98 percent, and 96 percent system-wide. The system will comprise over 18 miles (29 km) of tunnels with

16093-483: The western end, and 70 m (230 ft) in the east. The tunnel will drain 34 of the most polluting combined sewer overflows and is expected to lead to the overflows operating for 3.7% of the time on a maximum of four days per year at the time of commissioning. Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (BTL) is the licensed infrastructure provider for its finance, building, maintenance and operation. It has as investors: Allianz , Amber Infrastructure , Dalmore Capital and DIF. Since

16226-568: The whole of England and Wales but with specifically designated border arrangements with Scotland covering the catchment of the River Tweed . It took over the roles and responsibilities of the National Rivers Authority (NRA), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) and the waste regulation authorities in England and Wales including the London Waste Regulation Authority (LWRA). All of

16359-574: The winter and then are flushed into the sewer systems during heavy spring rains. CSO discharges during heavy storms can cause serious water pollution problems. The discharges contain human and industrial waste, and can cause beach closings, restrictions on shellfish consumption and contamination of drinking water sources. CSOs differ from sanitary sewer overflows in that the latter are caused by sewer system obstructions, damage, or flows in excess of sewer capacity (rather than treatment plant capacity.) Sanitary sewer overflows may occur at any low spot in

16492-603: The £635 million construction contract to the MVB joint venture of Morgan Sindall , VINCI Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche , in January 2010. Construction began in 2010 and on 28 January 2016 the Mayor of London , Boris Johnson , confirmed the tunnel open. The second part was the £675 million project to modernise and extend London's five major sewage treatment works to treat more sewage, thus greatly reducing

16625-485: Was commonplace to empty human waste receptacles, e.g., chamber pots , into town and city streets and slaughter animals in open street " shambles ". The use of draft animals such as horses and herding of livestock through city streets meant that most contained large amounts of excrement. Before the development of macadam as a paving material in the 19th century, paving systems were mostly porous, so that precipitation could soak away and not run off, and urban rooftop rainwater

16758-531: Was later named the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model. If the cost overruns by more than 30%, the government would have to provide additional equity finance. In August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , a project lockdown and revised working practices meant the project was delayed by nine months and had incurred additional costs of £233m (taking the estimated project cost to £4.133bn). Completion

16891-547: Was merged into Natural Resources Wales , a separate body managing the Welsh environment and natural resources. The Environment Agency is the principal flood risk management operating authority . It has the power (but not the legal obligation) to manage flood risk from designated main rivers and the sea. These functions in relation to other rivers (defined as ordinary watercourses ) in England are undertaken by local authorities or internal drainage boards . The Environment Agency

17024-513: Was often saved in rainwater tanks. Open sewers, consisting of gutters and urban streambeds, were common worldwide before the 20th century. In the majority of developed countries, large efforts were made during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to cover the formerly open sewers, converting them to closed systems with cast iron, steel, or concrete pipes, masonry, and concrete arches, while streets and footpaths were increasingly covered with impermeable paving systems. Most sewage collection systems of

17157-406: Was provided in the form of 'flood defence grant-in-aid' from government (£578 million for England and £50 million for Wales). In addition, £347 million (34 per cent) was raised through statutory charging schemes and flood defence levies; and a further £50 million (5 per cent) came from other miscellaneous sources. In 2007–08 had an operational budget of £1.025 billion, of which £628m was grant from

17290-761: Was recommended that, for the project to be as cost-effective as possible and cause the least disruption, while still meeting the requirements of the UWWTD, the preferred scheme for the Thames Tideway Tunnel would need to involve: The new preferred route and sites were then sent out for a second round of public consultation and feedback. The second phase of consultation was carried out between November 2011 and February 2012 when local authorities, land owners, local businesses and communities were consulted on: A total of 1,374 feedback forms (online and hard copy), 4,636 pieces of correspondence and nine petitions were received. Following this consultation, and taking into consideration all

17423-441: Was targeted for the first half of 2025. Combined sewer Combined sewers can cause serious water pollution problems during combined sewer overflow ( CSO ) events when combined sewage and surface runoff flows exceed the capacity of the sewage treatment plant, or of the maximum flow rate of the system which transmits the combined sources. In instances where exceptionally high surface runoff occurs (such as large rainstorms),

17556-444: Was the Lee Tunnel : a deep, broad storage and conveyance tunnel dug and lined from Jenkins Lane, Beckton to Abbey Mills, Stratford, sloping down the reverse way. This 6.9 km (4.3 mi) tunnel, running down to 75 m (246 ft) deep from Abbey Mills to Beckton is forecast to capture 16,000,000 m (1.6 × 10 L), or 16 million tonnes annually from the greatest-polluting CSO point in London. Thames Water awarded

17689-474: Was then effectively repaid by central government in later years as part of the Formula Spending Share. In 2005 this was simplified by making a direct transfer from Treasury to the Environment Agency in the form of flood defence grant-in-aid . The Environment Agency's total funding in 2007–08 was £1,025 million, an increase of £23 million on 2006–07. Of that total, £629 million (61 per cent)

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