Raised chambers for London’s new multi-million pound ‘super sewer’ have been secured with intruder-resistant turret tops.
Thames Water‘s extension to the Lee Tunnel was opened earlier this year by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson before leaving his former role as London Mayor.
The 4.3 mile-long £678 million projects took four years to build and was designed to stop sewage flushing into the River Thames and River Lee.
Perimeter security expert Zaun had already secured the access points to the tunnel extension with its most intruder-resistant product, ArmaWeave, installed by Zaun subsidiary Binns Fencing.
ArmaWeave’s unique properties add substantial resistance to cutting attacks with hand, powered and non-contact tools. In addition, the tight mesh pattern provides no climbing aids, again limiting the potential for intrusion.
Zaun designed two bespoke ‘cages’ from ArmaWeave with special fixings and topped with a 980 razor coil to protect the chambers.
On average, 39 million tonnes of untreated sewage mixed with rainwater gets discharged into the River Thames from overloaded treatment works and combined sewer outfalls every year.
At Abbey Mills pumping station, the biggest of these outfalls has been discharging 16 million tonnes of sewage per year to the River Lee.
The £678 million Lee Tunnel – the largest single project in the history of the privatised water industry in England and Wales, and the deepest ever bored under London at 75 metres deep – will capture this sewage to keep it out the River Lee.
The Lee Tunnel connects the Abbey Mills Water Treatment Centre to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, Europe’s largest such site, both of which are also secured by Zaun perimeter protection.
The Thames Tideway Tunnel will connect to the Lee Tunnel and capture sewage from the remaining 34 combined sewer overflows, keeping it out of the River Thames.
