TUNNEL VISION

The Thames Tideway Tunnel, which is due for completion in 2023, is a super sewer the width of three London buses that will pipe London’s waste to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. The tunnel project came about because of a 1991 EU Directive that requires the UK to protect the environment from waste-water discharges. In 2012, the Court of Justice of the European

Union found that the UK was in breach of the directive, meaning that the UK was, and still is, at risk of fines if the problem isn’t addressed. The tunnel faced objections from councils concerned at the effect of the 24 building sites involved in its construction, and more broadly from those concerned at the cost and those who want to see greener solutions to the pollution problem. Nevertheless, in September 2014, planning authorities approved plans for the tunnel, having decided that reworking the plan would create unacceptable delays to the resolution of the pollution problem.