Unlike London’s clay, Goring sits on chalk and gravel. During winter, the water table rises and literally gorges (pours into) the commercial sewer pipes through cracks. Local pubs and the Goring Hotel Spa have reported that their drainage systems cannot handle the "clear water intrusion." The result? During peak flow, the local pumping station cannot keep up, leading to sewage backing up into the basements of riverside businesses.
"People think flushing a wipe is harmless," says Sandra Kolve, a drainage engineer with 20 years on the river. "But commercial drainage isn't designed for volume. It’s designed for speed. When a restaurant closes at 11 PM and pours 50 liters of hot oil down the sink, it hits the cold brick sewer and solidifies instantly." commercial drainage goring on thames
With the skyscraper booms in Nine Elms, Rotherhithe, and Canary Wharf, commercial drainage systems are being murdered by pH levels that resemble bleach. When construction crews wash cement mixers into storm drains (which flow directly to the Thames, not to treatment plants), the alkaline slurry kills every fish in a five-mile radius. Unlike London’s clay, Goring sits on chalk and gravel
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. During peak flow, the local pumping station cannot
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.
