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Thames super-sewer thanks to EU action
September 10, 2010 6:10 PM
Ahead of the launch of Thames Water's public consultation on the route and construction options for the Thames 'super-sewer' on Monday, London Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford has voiced her continuing support for the 20-mile interceptor tunnel.
Sarah Ludford has for 6 years led the campaign to clean up the Thames. Back in 2005 she presented a petition to the European Parliament condemning the raw sewage overflows that currently pollute the river and specifically calling for a Thames super-sewer to stop breaches of the EU clean water laws that the UK had signed up to. She said:
"The Thames super-sewer is essential to stop our outdated Victorian reliance on sewage overflows when a bit of rain falls. To use this method in the 21st century is disgusting, and it is outrageous that the Thames is still in 2010 treated as an open sewer. Londoners, and Olympic athletes, deserve better."
"The prospect of the tunnel is thanks to EU laws and action. Whitehall and the Mayor of London have for the last 10 years been in breach of European sewage treatment rules, and the UK is currently on trial in the European Court of Justice for failing to take action earlier to clean up the Thames."
"After decades of foot-dragging by previous governments, I welcome the new coalition government's backing for the super-sewer. The detail of the route, and minimising disruption for residents, are very important. But this is our chance to clean up the Thames for good and we must not blow it."
Notes for Editors
1. The EU's 1991 Urban Waste Water Treatment directive came into force in 2000 and requires the treatment of sewage before discharge in order to keep rivers, seas and lakes clean. The European Commission considers the overflows of sewage into the Thames so frequent and systematic that they are in breach of the directive and therefore illegal.
2. The European Commission referred the United Kingdom to the European Court of Justice for Thames sewage overflows on 8 October 2009. The court case officially started on 16 June 2010, and is currently in the written procedure stage.
3. 6.5 million cubic metres of diluted sewage was pumped into the Thames in the month of August 2010 alone. The super-sewer will capture it before discharge and divert it to treatment.
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