LONDON: The door of the steel box lift clanks shut and a crane slowly lowers construction workers building London's 'super sewer' 40 metres to the bottom of an enormous vertical shaft. Here, a world away from the city's busy streets, thousands of engineers and construction staff have spent the past seven y
LONDON: The door of the steel box lift clanks shut and a crane slowly lowers construction workers building London's"super sewer" 40 metres to the bottom of an enormous vertical shaft.
In July and August 1858, a combination of soaring temperatures and a sewerage system that emptied straight into the Thames resulted in the city being engulfed in a cloud of putrid air.But in recent decades, lack of capacity due to the British capital's population growth has meant that raw sewage has once again flowed into the river.
Although the old brick-lined sewers - built between 1859 and 1875 - are still in"pristine condition" they are just not big enough.The network was constructed when London's population stood at just four million compared to about nine million today. When operational, it will carry sewage only when rain means the existing sewers are full to overflowing.
The latest figures released by the government-sponsored Environment Agency show an average of 825 sewage spills a day last year into UK rivers and coastal areas. The government this week confirmed that water companies, as well as others such as energy and waste operators, will face unlimited fines for polluting practices.
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