The Mayor's draft water strategy - london.gov.uk - Greater London ...

phase of work will be the construction of the
6.9 kilometre Lee Tunnel from Abbey Mills
to Beckton and the upgrading of Beckton
sewage treatment works. This will deal with
discharges from Abbey Mills that accounts
for up to 50 per cent of discharges from
the CSOs along the Tideway. A planning
application for the Lee Tunnel and extension
of the Beckton sewage treatment works was
submitted in May 2008, with construction
commencing in 2009 and completion by
2014. It is expected to deliver improvements
to the Olympic legacy by eliminating almost
all discharges into the River Lee.
5.9 The longer Thames Tunnel from west
London to Beckton is more complex than
the Lee Tunnel, requiring more extensive
design work, development effort and
stakeholder engagement. Construction is
Figure 5.2 Proposed Thames Tideway Tunnel
not therefore expected to start until 2012,
with completion in 2020. Improvements
to Beckton sewage treatment works are
necessary to allow rainwater and sewage that
will drain into the tunnels to be pumped out
and the sewage treated before discharge.
5.10 The present scheme was only adopted
after extensive study. The Thames Tideway
Strategic Study was set up in 2000 to
assess the environmental impact of the
intermittent discharges on the Thames
Tideway and to identify potential solutions
‘having regard to costs and benefits’.
The study reported in 2005 78 , and further
studies were undertaken in 2006. In March
2007 the government announced that it
supported the construction of a full-length
tunnel from Hammersmith to Beckton with
additional spur tunnel from Abbey Mills
73