For the baseball player, see Lee Tunnell.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Lee Tunnel |
| Coordinates | 51°31′51″N 0°00′03″W / 51.5307°N 0.000835°W / 51.5307; -0.000835 |
| Status | Open |
| Start | Abbey Mills Pumping Station |
| End | Beckton Sewage Treatment Works |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | 2010 |
| Constructed | MVB JV consortium |
| Opened | 28 January 2016 |
| Owner | Thames Water |
| Operator | Thames Water |
| Technical | |
| Length | 6.9 km (4.3 mi) |
| Highest elevation | −75 m (−246 ft) at Abbey Mills |
| Lowest elevation | −80 m (−260 ft) at Beckton |
| Width | 7.2 m (24 ft) |
The Lee Tunnel, also known as the Stratford to East Ham deep tunnel, is an overflow sewer in East London for storage and conveyance of foul sewage mixed with rainwater. It was built as part of the Thames Tideway Scheme and runs from Abbey Mills Pumping Station down to pumps and storage tanks at Jenkins Lane, Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. It is wholly under the London Borough of Newham.
This 6.9 km (4.3 mi) tunnel, of 7.2 m (24 ft) diameter, laid at between 75 m (246 ft) deep, at start, to 80 m (260 ft) at finish, captures c. 16,000,000 m (1.6×10 L), or 16 million tonnes, of sewage annually from the single largest polluting CSO in London - the amount varies with rainfall. This sewage overflow had flowed untreated into the River Lea, after which it diluted gradually in the Thames Tideway (the narrowest parts of the Thames Estuary). It can take 30 days for effluent to reach the sea from the Tideway.
From its terminus, pumps send the effluent into the adjacent Beckton Sewage Treatment Works – the largest such works in Europe. From that works the resultant water (treated sewage), with solids removed and the most harmful chemicals treated, empties into the (Thames's) Tideway, its upper estuary. Lying at −75 metres (−246 ft) AOD means a second source of London's old-style combined sewers' effluent can be caught, that from the Thames Tideway Tunnel, which is due to open in 2025.
Construction
Thames Water awarded the construction contract to the MVB JV consortium, comprising Morgan Sindall, VINCI Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche, in January 2010. The contract price, combined with Thames Water's own improvements was estimated at £635 million.
Construction began with sinking of vertical shafts in 2010. In February 2012, the TBM, built by Herrenknecht and named Busy Lizzie, started work at the east end. In 2013, a UK record concrete slipform pour was achieved: 29 days of continual pouring. The tunnel is the deepest bored in London. The TBM reached the west end in January 2014. The tunnel was completed, and opened by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, in January 2016.
References
- "Why does London need the Thames Tunnel?" (PDF). Thames Water. July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- "Lee Tunnel – London Tideway Improvements". Thames Water. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
- ^ Jewell, Peter; Bellhouse, Matthew (29 January 2014). "Engineering the Lee Tunnel and Shafts through Chalk at Depth". The Geological Society of London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- "Thames Water's Lee Tunnel completed on time and on budget". Water Briefing. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- "Lee Tunnel project running 'on time and budget'". Utility Week. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- "Tunnel Opened by Boris Johnson". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 January 2016.