London's Thames Tideway Tunnel now fully connected
London's new £5bn super sewer has been fully connected and is already stopping half a million tonnes of sewage from entering the River Thames, the firm behind it has said.After 10 years of construction work, the last of the 21 connections of the Thames Tideway Tunnel was made to the city's Victorian sewage system.The 16-mile (25km) pipe will divert 34 of the most-polluting sewage outflows that have been discharging into the Thames.Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell said: "This is another significant step forward – with this final connection complete, the super sewer is fully up and running and protecting the Thames."
London's combined sewage system handles human waste and rain runoff together, but the capital's population has outgrown the infrastructure.The new system is expected to stop 95% of the sewage spills that previously would have polluted the river.
Connections have been made at locations including the starting point of the University Boat Race at Putney Embankment; Chelsea and Victoria Embankments; Blackfriars Bridge in the heart of the City of London; and King Edward Memorial Park in Wapping.The Thames Tideway Tunnel connects with the 4.2-mile (6.9km) Lee Tunnel, an existing Thames Water asset, creating the London Tideway Tunnel system. The infrastructure project, funded by Thames Water customers, will reduce sewage discharges into the Thames and create lasting benefits for biodiversity, recreation and public health, a Tideway spokesperson said.The project is not yet fully complete, as it will still need to be tested in storm conditions over the coming months.Thames Water will then take over the operation of the system.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed described the tunnel as "an example of the kind of infrastructure investment needed to clean up our waterways around the country", adding: "This government is determined to clean up our polluted rivers, lakes and seas – and that includes the capital's iconic Thames river."London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said it was an "important milestone" towards cleaning up London's waterways.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
MPs ask ministers whether they will recoup Thames Water executive bonuses
The environment secretary has been asked if he will claw back controversial bonus payments to Thames Water senior executives after it emerged some bonuses had already been paid out. Last month, Steve Reed vowed to block bonuses that Thames Water proposed to pay to managers at the beleaguered company. The firm's chair has been forced to admit that bonuses have already been paid to executives out of a £3bn emergency loan paid by creditors for the purpose of rescuing Thames from financial collapse. In a letter to MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs committee, the chair of Thames Water, Sir Adrian Montague, admitted 21 members of the firm's senior management team received a first payment at 50% of base salary on 30 April 2025. He said 'the board does not intend to recover this money'. The letter says that the 21 individuals who received payments did not include Sir Adrian himself, the CEO Chris Weston, or the CFO Steve Buck. However, he added that Buck would be eligible for a later payment under the plan, which he confirmed is 'paused' pending a review. He added that the bonuses are worth £18.5m in total, spread across three payments over two years – '50% of base salary on 30 April 2025; 50% on completion of [Thames Water's] second restructuring plan or, if earlier, December 2025; and a final payment of 200% of base salary in June 2026'. The parliamentary committee has written to Reed asking 'whether you expect Ofwat to recoup the payments made on 30th April to all 21 of Thames management team?' Alistair Carmichael, the chair of the committee, said: 'We have now learned that 21 members of Thames Water's senior management team, not including their CEO and CFO, received payments additional to their salary, in April 2025, at the not inconsiderable rate of 50% of their base rate of pay. Thames Water have stated in a letter to us that they do not intend to recover this money. They also say that the retention payments scheme has been 'paused'. 'As a committee, we are trying to seek clarity as to whether these payments fall within the remit of the government's ban and will be recouped, given that they were not paid to the company's CEO or CFO and are termed by Thames Water as 'retention payments' rather than bonuses. We are also asking whether Defra and Ofwat were aware of these payments and what undertakings they have received from Thames Water about the pausing or withdrawal of the retention plan. 'Given that the plan includes two further retention payments, including 200% of base salary due to be paid to these 21 individuals in June 2026, it is vital that Thames Water, Defra and Ofwat are clear with us all about what exactly is going on.' In his letter, Montague also apologised for misleading the committee after the Guardian revealed he had wrongly told MPs the large bonuses were 'insisted' upon by creditors. He told the select committee that the lenders said that 'very substantial' bonuses of up to 50% of salary should be paid to company executives from the controversial loan in order to retain key staff. The Guardian revealed that sources with knowledge of the details of the agreement, the term sheet for the loan and court documents suggested that while the bonuses were agreed to by the creditors they were not necessarily proposed by them. He said: 'For complete clarity, I did misspeak. However, I certainly did not intend to mislead. I deeply regret having caused confusion through my appearance.' A Thames Water spokesperson said: 'We wrote to the Efra select committee to apologise for the confusion caused following the recent evidence session and to provide further clarity. 'The company's CEO is not party to the MRP [management retention plan] and has received no payments to date. None of the retention payments have been funded by customers. Full details of the plan have been shared with our economic regulator. We will review the requests from the select committee chair and will respond in due course.' Defra has been contacted for comment.
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- The Guardian
Public ownership of England's water companies could cost close to zero, says thinktank
Ministers could bring water companies into public ownership for minimal cost through a process designed to safeguard vital public services when the companies running them are failing, a thinktank report has argued. According to the report by Common Wealth, ministers could use a process known as special administration to take over a company like Thames Water and, rather than transfer it to another private company, keep it under permanent public ownership. Writing for the thinktank, Ewan McGaughey, professor of law at King's College London, said that while a figure of £99bn was commonly cited as the cost of taking over the industry in England, this was based on an estimate from a thinktank paid for by water companies. According to McGaughey, the estimates use a metric known as regulatory capital value, designed by the industry regulator Ofwat for calculating maximum dividends. This takes the assumed value of companies in 1990 and adds on capital investment per year and inflation but, the report said, takes no account of real market values. The actual market value of water companies, the report argued, seems to be lower, with the US private equity company KKR offering a £4bn injection of equity to take over Thames Water, when its supposed regulatory capital value is nearer £20bn. It goes on to say that when debt levels of water companies are taken into account, for example Thames Water is about £20bn in debt, it would be possible for the government to argue that their appropriate value in law was notably less, even close to zero. This would be based not just on debt, but also on the amount of money needed for infrastructure repairs and the scale of dividends already paid to shareholders. While polling shows strong public support for the general idea of nationalised water suppliers, and the idea is liked by some Labour MPs, government officials say regulatory capital value is the standard measure for the companies' value, and that nationalisation would need the state to plug the gap left by billions more pounds of private investment that would vanish. But according to McGaughey, who specialises in corporate law and insolvency, the rules setting out special administration would allow this to be used to remove licences from any water company deemed to show serious poor performance, something he argues in the report could be justified with every English water company over the dumping of sewage into waterways alone. Once this was done, shareholders and secured creditors such as bondholders would be given 'appropriate value' for their stakes, with McGaughey saying this would, in effect, be nothing. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion While special administration is usually carried out to find a new private owner, McGaughey said there was 'nothing in the law to require that the new owner is private'. He added: 'On the contrary, the duty of the special administrator is to the public, and it's in the public interest to consider public ownership. There would be a case for judicial review if the secretary of state did not consider public ownership.' Such a move, McGaughey added, would be likely to see bondholders take legal action. However, he said, this happened in the past when Railtrack and Northern Rock were put into special administration without any compensation for investors, and the investors lost. 'The government just needs to stop being so timid,' he said. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'The government has no plans to nationalise water companies. It will cost billions of pounds and take years to unpick the current ownership model, during which time underinvestment in infrastructure and sewage pollution would only get worse.'
Wales Online
a day ago
- Wales Online
Winner of the best bathroom in Wales 2025 revealed
Winner of the best bathroom in Wales 2025 revealed The builder said it was the most challenging bathroom he has ever tackled in his 40 years of working in the trade Timeless luxury in a period property in Penarth (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) Renovating a bathroom, especially inside a period property, can be a challenge especially if you're spending many thousands of pounds and need the result to be timeless and last in style for decades. It is one of the trickiest rooms in the house to update according to Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru award winner Mike Robson from building company Talbot Green Construction and Landscaping, who can now add to their credentials the builders of 'the best bathroom in Wales 2025'. In a Victorian, three-storey home in Penarth there was a former care home that was waiting to be transformed back into a dream dwelling and Mike and his team were given the task of extending, renovating and completely updating, including the principal bedroom's amazing ensuite, which Mike admits was the most challenging bathroom he has ever tackled in his 40 years of working in the trade. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here. READ MORE: This is the best kitchen in Wales ALSO: The ordinary-looking home with an unexpected treat in the back garden One of the team, Gary Dodd, taking down the structural wall between the two bedrooms (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) Article continues below The whole space to transform was currently two bedrooms and needed to become a bigger bedroom and ensuite so there was initially a major structural element to the suite update before a marble tile or bath tap was ever delivered. Mike says: "It's probably the most work I've done on a bathroom because we had to take down a load bearing wall to knock the two rooms into one space and then create the ensuite in the former bedroom. All the floors needed to come up too - for extra joist support and for hiding pipework (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) "We had to install the supporting steel beam and then taking up the whole floor because the joists weren't adequate to take the weight of the bath, water and obviously person, and also underneath is a living room which was going to have a chandelier hanging down which weighed a tonne, so took it right back to basics and bricks." But if anyone is worried about the chandelier situation, maybe thinking there might be an 'Only Fools and Horses' moment and the chandelier ends up on the living room floor, Mike says all the structural specifications were done by an engineer and the team worked to them in conjunction with the architect's drawings. The stud walls between the two spaces plus the sauna, walk-in shower and toilet walls are added (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) Mike remembers: "All the joists were replaced and strengthened and levelled because as you can imagine it's an old building, nothing is straight or level so it can be a nightmare. But we have an extremely good bathroom and kitchen fitter called Darren Dauncey, although everyone knows him as Daz, and his attention to detail is second to none, he is extremely good, and he can see any problems before they actually arise because of his years of experience." The owners were, luckily, very understanding of the challenges of knocking around a property over a century old, saying: "True to form for a Victorian property the house kept throwing curve balls at us, but at every obstacle Mike and the team had a solution. "From first fix to the final finishes their attention to detail was second to none and we could not be happier with the end result." The space is actually the principal bedroom's ensuite (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) The floor, with its more robust joists, is where all the pipes and plumbing is hidden to ensure the bathroom has a seamless look but this came at the cost of extra work before the marble floor and luxury fittings were installed, and the bath especially was the biggest headache. Mike says: " Getting the first fix plumbing into place because it had to come from the other side of the room and all the pipes needed to be hidden, so there was chasing out the walls, as well as the joists, so it was the logistics of getting the pipework from a to b. The bath and tap were the most complex element of the bathroom for the team (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) "The bath is actually my favourite part of the bathroom, even though it was the most challenging. We needed to support the floor underneath it due to the weight of the marble floor tiles, the bath itself, the water when it's full and obviously, a person too. "Then we had to hide all the pipework for the bath, water waste and the stand-alone tap - all the work to get it all in place - to look at it, it's just a bath and a tap but from our point of view it was a challenge but very satisfying to complete." The room is full of timeless and tasteful marble - including the dado rails and skirtings (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) The bathroom at the far end includes a separate walk-in shower and a separate toilet and a sauna, all of which were positioned on a wall which made them easier to construct and install as it might first appear, but the house did help out with this element of the build. Mike says that as the house is an older Victorian house it has high ceilings, so the team easily had the extra space to create a suspended ceiling to assist with hiding more items required to produce the seamless and uncluttered design that so impressed the FMB judges. For more property stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here The walk-in shower includes separate lighting and integrated shelf (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) "The original ceilings were delaminated lath and plaster," Mike adds, "So an MF grid ceiling was installed, not only giving a new level and solid ceiling but all the extraction ducts and services could be run in the void created." The space for the sauna was prepared, including all the first fix elements, and then Cardiff based BOS leisure appeared on site to install it. Other impressive features to admire include marble skirtings and dado rails. The sauna is a luxurious addition to the space (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) As the most complex bathroom Mike, Daz and the team have worked on it would be understandable to hear of moments of stress, but having been in the trade for over 40 years he says he doesn't worry, he just finds a solution. Mike says: " I don't get stressed about things - if I wake up in the morning and I'm breathing that's good enough for me! No matter what problems come up I can sort them, they are miniscule compared to what can happen in life. The owners wanted a luxurious, five-star hotel feeling and, according to the FMB judges, they got it (Image: Talbot Green Construction ) One element of a build that Mike says is pivotal to success is communication with the client. He explains: " When starting to put things back together we always ask the client if they are sure they want things exactly to the drawings, such as the location of a plug socket or light switch before we do it and as they are the clients and they are going to live in the place. "So we are keen to confirm everything with them that they definitely want things as per the drawings or interior designer specifications." Mike, aged 61 and from Talbot Green, is humble about the title of 'best bathroom in Wales 2025', saying he only entered the competition as a chance to recognise the skill and dedication of his team. He is very proud of the win but hasn't really looked to see if the news has been shared online. Darren Dauncey and Mike Robson receiving the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru award for 'Wales' Best Bathroom 2025' He says: "I'm a d inosaur really, I've never seen a social media page and when I have to turn the computer on I feel like smacking my head against a wall! But I'm really content, I'm always active, I can't just sit still, I've got an allotment and I'm always doing stuff." But clearly there's nothing prehistoric about Mike's build ability, with the award-winning bathroom testament to that. Mike says: "My aim is that whatever the client needs I will hold their hand and help them through the process but at the end of the day it's their home and I treat that with the greatest of respect. All my clients are a pleasure to work for, I'm very fortunate." Article continues below Find your a property for sale with a lush bathroom here:
