Workers have started the construction of London's "super sewer" in an effort to reduce the waste that goes into the Thames river. The project's goal is to address the waste problem that the city has especially with its growing population. Currently, a hole is being dug at the new tunnel's center.
According to City A.M., workers from Tideway have started digging a 30-meter diameter hole to mark the new tunnel's central point. The hole is as big as the dome at St Paul's Cathedral while the tunnel has a length of 16 miles.
Just this year, about 1.2 million tons of sewage waste has been dumped straight into the Thames river due to the fact that the old Victorian sewers can't handle the huge amount of waste that flows through it. BBC reported that the old tunnels' waste would overflow to the river even if it would just rain for a few millimeters.
The proposal for the Thames Tideway Tunnel isn't a recent one because it has been floating in the air since 2005. However, there were some issues that needed to be clarified with regards to the contracts so the go-signal for the project's construction was given on February 2015.
This project would be the biggest upgrade to the old sewers of London since its construction in the 1850s which was supervised by Joseph Bazalgette. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) even stated that the new sewer system is the most cost-efficient and fastest way to address the environmental issues in the city.
London residents would greatly benefit from the "super sewer" because the amount of waste dumped into the river would be drastically reduced. However, they would most likely expect their water bills to increase by £25 (about $32) in the years to come.
