Last reviewed: 4.11.2011 - 10.24am
The proposed Thames Tunnel is being designed to capture flows from the 34 most polluting combined sewer overflows, as identified by the Environment Agency, that discharge untreated sewage to the River Thames in London. As little as 2mm of rainfall can trigger a discharge.
We will carry out extensive public consultation prior to our submission for planning approval.
Have your say
Our second phase of consultation on the Thames Tunnel launched on 4 November 2011 and runs for 14 weeks until 5pm on 10 February 2012. This phase is much more detailed than phase one, which ran from September 2010 to January 2011.
You can find out more about the consultation, register for updates and have your say on the Thames Tunnel on our consultation website.
Phase one consultation
During the first consultation period we gathered information from not only the local community potentially affected by the construction of the tunnel, but also anyone offering relevant information to be taken into account.
We used this information, where possible, to modify the design of the Thames Tunnel to address any concerns, and we published a report on the phase one consultation on our Thames Tunnel consultation website in spring 2011.
Subject to approval, our provisional start date for the construction period is 2016, with construction expected to take six to seven years.
Creating a cleaner river
Watch our short film to learn what we're doing to prevent sewage entering the River Thames.
London Tideway Improvements
We've developed three major engineering schemes to help stop sewer overflows and improve water quality in the River Thames.
