Work begins for supersewer under Parliament
Work has begun on a new supersewer for London - right under MPs' noses.
It comes more than 150 years after "the Great Stink" closed the House of Commons - and amid a distinctly whiffy expenses scandal.
Near the terraces of the Houses of Parliament, Thames Water has begun the first stage of a £2.2billion project. A 20-metre high rig is boring 100 metres under the Thames to give engineers an idea of what they will encounter when the main tunnelling work begins in 2013.
When it is finished in 2020, the 20-mile long and seven-metre diameter Thames Tunnel will be used as a vast overflow pipe on the 50 to 60 days a year when heavy rainfall overwhelms London's Victorian sewerage system. At present untreated sewage flows straight into the Thames from 34 outflows. In an average year, 32 million tonnes are discharged - enough to fill 15 O2 arenas - damaging wildlife and being a health hazard for river users.
London's sewer system was regarded as the most advanced in the world when it was built after the stench in 1858 forced MPs to act.
