Last spring, the Environment Agency fined a major developer £200,000 after a "milky white discharge" was spotted flowing from a drainage pipe near Wandsworth Park. The culprit? A wheel wash station draining directly into a surface water sewer.
Note: I assume "goring" was a typographical or autocorrect error for or "pouring" (as in stormwater outflow). If you meant the village of Goring-on-Thames specifically, the commercial drainage issues there are covered in the final section. The Hidden Torrent: Why Commercial Drainage is Becoming the Thames’ Biggest Nightmare By [Author Name] commercial drainage goring on thames
But beneath the waterline, a crisis is bubbling up through the manholes. It is not just rising sea levels or Atlantic storms that keep Thames Water’s emergency planners awake at night. It is —the grease, the concrete, and the "wet wipes" flowing out of London’s kitchens, car washes, and construction sites. Last spring, the Environment Agency fined a major
On the surface, the River Thames is the picture of serene commerce. Tourist barges putter past riverside cafés in Oxford, property developers crane over luxury flats in Putney, and freight moves silently through the Lock gates at Teddington. Note: I assume "goring" was a typographical or
As one landlord at The Miller of Mansfield told us: "We spend more on sump pumps than on beer pumps." The traditional answer to commercial drainage issues is the Thames Tideway Tunnel (the "Super Sewer"), a £4.5 billion mega-project set to finish in 2025. It will capture 95% of the sewage currently spilling into the tidal Thames.