Thames Water to remove ‘concreteberg’ in Hammersmith and Fulham sewer following sewer abuse

• Thames Water will remove illegally dumped concrete from its sewers in Hammersmith and Fulham.  

• Consequently, sections of North End Road, London will be closed for six weeks, starting Friday 16 February 2024.  

• The company is investigating this matter in order to reclaim costs for disruption caused and remedial costs incurred.    

Thames Water will be closing parts of North End Road, London for six weeks as the water company starts work to remove a large concreteberg, which was dumped down its sewers.  

The UK’s largest water company first identified the concrete blocking the pipework last summer. Since then, Thames Water tankers have been carrying out daily pump outs of the sewers to prevent nearby homes and businesses from flooding while their engineers worked on the complex arrangements to remove the concrete. 

Working seven days a week with their contractors Cappagh, the teams will excavate the area and use specialist tools to break down the concrete. Once it has been removed, they will then replace the affected sections of sewers, all at a cost to the company.  

Thames Water’s dedicated Third Party recharge team is currently investigating the incident and plan to progress the claim with a view to recover all costs for the mitigation measures that have been in place, and repair of the pipework.  

Jamie Keech, Area Network Manager for North West London at Thames Water said: “It’s very frustrating to see our customers suffer because of this mindless abuse of our network. This is not the first time we’ve seen damage caused by people pouring concrete into our sewers, which takes a great amount of resource to resolve. 

“We are working to find those who have caused this disruption to local residents and businesses, and we’d like our customers to know we will work seven days a week with our contractors and the local authority to get the road re-opened again as safely and quickly as possible.”  

An H & F spokesperson said: “This illegally dumped concrete in the sewer poses a risk to local homes and businesses. We fully support Thames Water and their investigations into who is responsible for this wide-scale vandalism.” 

 

North End Road will be closed between the junctions of Sedlescombe Road and Lillie Road from Friday 16 February 2024 for six weeks, with a diversion route via Dawes Road, Munster Road and Lillie Road. Should members of the public have any questions or concerns, you can contact Thames Water on 0800 3169800, and quote the job reference BB-53745.   

More information and updates can be found on the designated Thames Water web page.