London water supply infrastructure
London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London.
Beginning in the 16th century, private companies supplied fresh water to parts of London from wells, the River Thames and the River Lea. Further demand prompted new sources, particularly when the Agricultural and Industrial Revolution caused a boom in London's population and industry.
A crisis point was reached in the mid 19th century with the discovery that
Today, the population of Greater London is supplied by four private companies: Thames Water (76% of population), Affinity Water (14%), Essex and Suffolk Water (6.6%) and SES Water (3.7%).[1] The London area is classified as "seriously water stressed",[2] receiving less rain than Rome, Dallas, or Sydney,[3] and continued investment will be required to counteract the effects of climate change and a growing population in the 21st century.[4]
Most of London's water is now supplied from five large
Early London water supply
Through to the late 16th century, London citizens turned to the tidal Thames for much of their non-drinking water. For drinking, due to the brackish and perceptibly poor taste of the Thames, they tended to rely on wells and tributaries rising in around a dozen natural springs on the north side of the Thames, restricting the city's expansion south of the river.
In 1247 work began on the Great Conduit from the spring at Tyburn. This was a lead pipe which led via Charing Cross, Strand, Fleet Street and Ludgate to a large cistern or tank in Cheapside.[6][7] The city authorities appointed "keepers of the conduits" who controlled access so that users such as brewers, cooks and fishmongers would pay for the water they used. Wealthy Londoners living near the conduits could obtain permission for a connection to their homes, but this did not prevent their unauthorised tapping. Otherwise – particularly for homes which could not take a gravity feed – water from the conduits was taken to homes by water carriers, often called cobs, a term seen as dated by the 18th century.[7] Records of frequent drownings prove many poorer citizens needed or desired water from the Thames and the larger tributaries; quite large quantities were needed for iron-smithery, cooking and brewing for instance. The Great Conduit system was extended over time, and in the 15th century sources were increased, firstly by a conduit from Westbourne springs at Paddington, and secondly by another from the upper Fleet at Highgate which supplied Cripplegate.[8]
Sixteenth century
In 1582, Dutchman
Around 1593, another pumping station was built, again with the backing of the city, at Broken Wharf on
Seventeenth century
The New River
The early seventeenth century brought the construction of the New River, a 42-mile (68 km) artificial waterway which still carries water into London from Hertford, where it is fed from the River Lea and several nearby springs.[9]
Initially proposed in 1602 by
The New River cost Myddelton a lot of money, but in 1612 he was successful in securing investment and assistance from the king. At completion, the New River had cost around £19,000 (equivalent to £3.74 million in 2021), and by 1620, the total expenses for the first fifteen years had reached £32,000 (equivalent to £7.1 million in 2021).[9]
The
The Great Fire
The construction of much of London's current water distribution infrastructure dates to after the Great Fire of London in 1666, which destroyed much of the city's previous wooden and lead water piping.[7] The London Bridge Waterworks machinery was largely destroyed, but replacements engineered by Peter Morice's grandson remained under the bridge until the early 19th century, before the New London Bridge was erected in the 1830s.[9]
New companies
In the second half of the century, several new water works were established:
- In 1669, the Shadwell Water Works were established by Thomas Neale as part of a larger project to develop the land at Shadwell. The works drew water from the Thames using a pump powered by four horses, and later by steam engines. It was incorporated by an act of Parliament in 1692.[9]
- In 1673, the Millbank Waterworks was established by Michael Arnold, a brewer in Westminster, along with two co-owners.[9]
- In 1675, a royal patent was granted to Ralph Bucknall and Ralph Wayne of the York Buildings Company to construct a horse-powered water works on the site of the York House estate, by the Thames south of the Strand.[9]
- In 1692, the Hampstead Waterworks were incorporated as a joint-stock company, which was granted the rights to water from Hampstead.[9]
Eighteenth century
The
Waterworks were established in East London, at West Ham in 1743 and at Lea Bridge before 1767.
The Borough Waterworks Company was formed in 1770, originally supplying water to a brewery and the surrounds: between London and Southwark Bridges. An adjacent zone was supplied by the London Bridge Waterworks Company.
The
Nineteenth century
New companies
As London grew in the 19th century, facilities were needed to serve the increasing population in newly developed areas. Several new water supply companies were established leading to a total of nine private water companies:
- The South London Waterworks Company was established by private act of parliament in 1805. The company extracted water from the Thames beside Vauxhall Bridge.
- The West Middlesex Waterworks Company was founded in 1806 to supply water for Marylebone and Paddington. In 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at Hammersmith.[13]
- The East London Waterworks Company, also founded in 1806, acquired the Shadwell Water Works, as well as works at Lea Bridge and West Ham on the Lea.
- The Kent Waterworks Company was incorporated in 1809 to supply Deptford, Lee, Greenwich, Lewisham, and Rotherhithe with water from the River Ravensbourne.[14]
- The Chelsea Hospital.[15]
The Lambeth Waterworks Company expanded in 1802 to supply Kennington and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones.[12]
Although the Acts of Parliament which created the water companies encouraged them to compete for customers, the companies quickly realised that this would not be profitable. In 1815 the East London company agreed with the New River Company to set a boundary between the two companies' areas. In 1817, a similar agreement was reached between the New River, Chelsea, West Middlesex, and Grand Junction companies.[16]
The London Bridge Waterworks Company was dissolved in 1822, and its water supply licence was purchased by the New River Company. Later that year, the Borough Waterworks Company purchased the London Bridge licence from the New River Company, and it was renamed the Southwark Water Company. The company extracted water from the Tideway using steam engines to pump it to a cistern at the top of a 60-foot (18 m) tower.[17]
Slow sand filtration
In January 1829, amongst increasing complaints about the quality of water supplied by the water companies, the Chelsea Waterworks began using a pioneering new technology to purify its water. Originally developed by John Gibb of
Expansion
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company established a 3.5-million-imperial-gallon (16 Ml) reservoir at Campden Hill near Notting Hill. In 1825 the company built a new reservoir at Barrow Hill next to Primrose Hill in North London.
In 1832 the Lambeth Waterworks Company built a reservoir at Streatham Hill, and in 1834 obtained an
In 1833 the South London Waterworks Company was supplying 12,046 houses with approximately 12,000 imperial gallons (55,000 L) of water per day.[16] In 1834, the company was renamed the Vauxhall Water Company.[17]
The Grand Junction Waterworks Company built a pumping station near Kew Bridge at Brentford in 1838 to house its new steam pump and two similar pumps bought from Boulton, Watt and Company in 1820. The water was taken from the middle of the river and pumped into filtering reservoirs and to a 200 ft (61 m) tower to provide gravity-fed water. A 6-to-7-mile (9.7 to 11 km) main took the water to a reservoir on Campden Hill near Notting Hill with a capacity of 6 million imperial gallons (27 Ml).
In 1829, the East London Waterworks Company moved their source of water further up river to
The Lonsdale Road Reservoir (also the Leg of Mutton Reservoir or Leg o' Mutton Reservoir) was built in 1838 and decommissioned in 1960, it is now a local nature reserve.[22]
On 10 January 1845 the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Companies submitted a memorandum to the Health of Towns Commissioners proposing
Metropolis Water Act
The companies often supplied too little water. It was often contaminated. The extent of contamination was confirmed by
The Chelsea Waterworks and the Lambeth Waterworks companies, who shared the services of
In the mid 19th century the East London Waterworks Company purchased the
In 1872 the Lambeth Waterworks Company moved upstream on the Thames to Molesey, followed by the Chelsea Waterworks Company. They built the Molesey Reservoirs there in 1872.
The East London Waterworks Company replaced their reservoir at Clapton with one at Stamford Hill in 1891; places which adjoin in today's London Borough of Hackney.[26]
In 1897 the New River Company started developing the Kempton Park works (today all in Hanworth). This would supply more water than the plant at Cricklewood that drew on the River Brent.
In 1898 the SVWC started work on the Bessborough and Knight Reservoirs across the Thames from Hampton at Molesey. By 1903 the SVWC supplied a population of 860,173 in 128,871 houses of which 122,728 (95.3%) had a constant supply.[27] The Lambeth Waterworks company started work on Island Barn Reservoir at Molesey in 1900.
Twentieth century
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Nationalisation: the Metropolitan Water Board
The private water companies were nationalised, by compulsory purchase, from 1902–03. The Metropolis Water Act 1902 created the Metropolitan Water Board (MWB), which was formed by the Act with 67 members; 65 of these nominees of local authorities, who then appointed the paid chairman and vice-chairman. A series of arbitration hearings was held to determine the amount that the shareholders of the nine private water companies were paid, which resulted in a total payout of £47 million (equivalent to £5.37 billion in 2021). This payment was made in "water stock", which carried a guaranteed dividend of 3%, payable by the MWB.[28]
Over the next 70 years, the MWB significantly invested in London's water supply, constructing many large reservoirs in the Thames and Lea valley areas.
In 1902, the extraction pumphouse opened at
The Metropolitan Water Board Railway was opened in 1916 to carry coal from the river at Hampton to Kempton Park. An engine house with powerful steam engines was opened at Kempton Park in 1929, which has now become Kempton Park Steam Engines museum.
Thames–Lee Water Main
By the 1950s, the flow of the River Lee was insufficient to supply the demand in eastern areas of London, and treated water had to be piped from west London to compensate. In drought periods, almost the entire flow of the Lee was abstracted, at times affecting navigation on the river.[31]
To resolve this, the Thames–Lee water main was conceived to transport raw water from the River Thames to East London to be treated. Designed by consulting engineers Sir William Halcrow & Partners, and constructed between 1955 and 1959, it is a 19-mile (31 km), 102-inch (2.6 m) diameter concrete-lined tunnel running from the non-tidal Thames at Hampton Water Works to Lockwood pumping station at the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain. The tunnel runs at a depth of 68 to 190 feet (21 to 58 m) and passes through 24 access shafts of 12 feet (3.7 m) diameter. Constructed of bolted reinforced concrete and cast iron segmental rings using a new form of rotary tunnelling shield, the tunnel was believed to be the longest in Europe at the time of its completion. The tunnel was designed to transfer 120 million imperial gallons (550 megalitres) of water per day.[31]
Water flows through the tunnel by gravity as far as Lockwood, where pumping plant lifts the water into a further section of conventional cast-iron main which delivers the water to the King George V and William Girling reservoirs. Another pump was originally installed at the Stoke Newington shaft to supply up to 12.5 million imperial gallons (57 megalitres) per day to the reservoirs there.[31]
The cost of the project was £4 million (equivalent to £98 million in 2021).[31]
Consolidation & Privatisation
On 1 April 1974, the Metropolitan Water Board and other local Water Boards (the
In 1989, The Thames Water Authority was
as a state-regulated company that provides most of London's supply.Thames Water Ring Main
By the 1980s, the ageing system of surface-level trunk mains, which transported treated water in bulk around London, was becoming overloaded and suffering an increasing number of leaks. The Thames Water Ring Main was a major project, constructed between 1988 and 1993 at a cost of £248 million (equivalent to £537 million in 2021), to reduce the reliance on these trunk mains and allow them to be more easily maintained. A deep-level system of 80 kilometres (50 mi) of concrete tunnels, the Ring Main connected the large water works in the west of London with pumping stations in the centre, close to the areas of highest demand. It also allowed a number of smaller treatment works to be closed.
Aquifer Recharge
Following the investment in London's water infrastructure over the 20th century, and the decline in industrial use of wells and boreholes, the groundwater levels in the aquifer beneath London began to rebound from their 1967 low of 100 metres (330 ft) below ground level. This rising groundwater raised the risk of damage to tunnels and structures with deep foundations, but also the opportunity to use the aquifer itself as a reservoir.[34]
The North London Artificial Recharge (NLAR) scheme, licensed by the Environment Agency in 1995, consists of a network of boreholes in the
Total yields of the scheme were estimated in 1999 at 90 megalitres per day from the Enfield and Haringey sources, and 60 megalitres per day for the Lee Valley sources, for a total scheme yield of around 150 megalitres per day. Recharge rates of 40 megalitres per day have been achieved, without impact on customer supply. In 1997, low river and reservoir levels meant that 14,600 megalitres of water were withdrawn from the aquifer, an amount equivalent to 30% of the usable capacity of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain.[35]
Present day
Leakage
London's water suppliers have come under significant criticism for the amount of leakage in the water network, with the total leakage reported at around 500 megalitres per day in 2019.[36] Many of London's water pipes are more than 60 years old, with the oldest being over 150 years old. Thames Water in particular has been criticised for distributing substantial profits to shareholders while almost a quarter of the water they supply is lost through leaks.[37][38]
In 2018, Ofwat, the regulator, found that Thames Water had breached its legal obligations in reducing leakage, and imposed a £120 million penalty, £65 million of which was returned to customers as a rebate on their bills.[39]
Desalination Plant
In 2010, a desalination plant was opened at Beckton at a cost of £250 million (equivalent to £341 million in 2021) to provide an additional 150 megalitres per day from the tidal Thames in times of drought.[40][41] This facility, the Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works, is rarely used due to the high cost of operation, and in 2022 the capacity was downgraded to 100 Ml/day. It came under criticism during construction as a waste of money which could be spent on fixing leaks.[42]
Expansion
The Thames Water Ring Main was extended between 2007 and 2010, with the construction of two new tunnels: a northern leg from New River Head to Stoke Newington, connecting the treatment plant at Coppermills to the ring main, and a southern leg from Brixton to the pumping station and reservoirs at Honor Oak.[43]
Following the success of the aquifer recharge scheme in North London, trials were conducted in the early 2000s on the possibility of a corresponding South London Artificial Recharge Scheme (SLARS), initially in the Streatham area.[44]
The construction of High Speed 1 presented a number of novel possibilities to increase groundwater extraction at low cost. The "Elred" (East London resource development) scheme reuses ten boreholes and a number of pipelines, located between Stratford and East Ham, which were originally built for temporary dewatering during construction of the High Speed 1 tunnels. Thames Water negotiated with the project to enhance the specification of these boreholes, and a new treatment plant was built at East Ham. The system started operation in May 2005, and can treat up to 23.7 megalitres per day, with an expected sustainable capacity of 15 Ml/d.[45] The "Stratford Box" pumping station, required to dewater the sub-surface Stratford International station, also feeds the extracted groundwater into the Lea Valley reservoirs.[46]
Notable Infrastructure
See also
- History of London
- List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom
- Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association
- Kew Bridge Steam Museum
- London sewer system
- History of water supply and sanitation
References
- ^ "The London Assembly".
- ^ "Water stressed areas – 2021 classification". Environment Agency. 1 July 2021.
- ^ "A secure and sustainable water supply". Thames Water. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Seabrook, Victoria (14 July 2022). "Water scarcity: Major world cities including London face 'increasing danger of drought', report warns". Sky News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Final Water Resources Management Plan 2019" (PDF). Thames Water.
- ^ Harben, Henry A (1918). "Great Cock Alley - Great Fryers Gate". A Dictionary of London. H Jenkins Ltd. Retrieved 10 November 2006 – via British History Online.
- ^ a b c d "Water-related Infrastructure in Medieval London". waterhistory.org. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ "The Great Conduit". Corporation of London Records Office, Letter Books C, f.110, F, f.107, H, f.252; 2. Corporation of London Records Office, Plea and Memoranda Roll A94, m.4.
{{cite book}}
:|website=
ignored (help) - ^ OCLC 980876952.
- ISBN 0-333-57688-8
- ^ Royal Charters, Privy Council website Archived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Lambeth Waterworks - Brief history during the Snow era". UCLA Department of Epidemiology.
- ^ "West Middlesex Waterworks history". UCLA Department of Epidemiology.
- ^ "Kent Water Works Company: Corporate Records". Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ Walford, Edward (1878). "Notting Hill and Bayswater". Old and New London: Volume 5. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin. pp. 177–188. Retrieved 22 September 2008 – via British History Online.
- ^ JSTOR 2337728.
- ^ a b c d e "Southwark & Vauxhall Water Company - Brief History during the Snow era". UCLA Department of Epidemiology.
- ^ Huisman, L. (1974). Slow sand filtration (PDF) (Report). Geneva: World Health Organization.
- ^ "History of the Chelsea Waterworks". UCLA Department of Epidemiology.
- ^ "Stockwell: Brixton Hill area". Survey of London: Volume 26, Lambeth: Southern Area. London: London County Council. 1956. pp. 100–105. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^ "East London Waterworks Company, Brief history during the Snow era, 1813 - 1858". UCLA Epidemiology. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
- ^ "Leg o' Mutton Reservoir". Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ a b Weale, John (1854). The Pictorial Handbook of London. London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Acts of the UK Parliament (1852). "An Act to make better Provision respecting the Supply of Water to the Metropolis". legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ The Coppermill Retrieved December 14, 2007
- ^ "Hackney: Public services". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10, Hackney. London: Victoria County History. 1995. pp. 108–115. Retrieved 1 October 2007 – via British History Online.
- S2CID 143553847.
- OCLC 1308603433.
- ^ Wray, Anthony (September 2016). Water Quality, Morbidity, and Mortality in London, 1906-1926 (PDF). 2016 Meeting of the Economic History Association. Boulder, Colorado.
- ^ London County Council (1922). London Statistics 1920-21 vol. XXVII. London: London County Council. pp. 249, 262.
- ^ . Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Acts of the UK Parliament (1973). "Water Act 1973". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ Acts of the UK Parliament (1989). "Water Act 1989". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ Jones, Michael. "Rising Groundwater in Central London". UK Groundwater Forum. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ S2CID 129500889. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Milner, Mark (21 June 2006). "Thames Water fails to plug leaks but profits rise 31%". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
- ^ "Our leakage performance". Thames Water. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ "PN 22/18: Thames Water's failure to tackle leakage results in £65m package for customers". Ofwat. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ "Salt water plant opened in London". BBC News. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- ^ "Case Study: Thames Beckton" (PDF). Water Projects Online. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ "Mayor critical of government plans to approve desalination plant". Greater London Authority. 15 June 2007. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008.
- ^ "Thames Water Ring Main Extensions". Thames Water. 13 September 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ Jones, Michael A; Harris, Sally J; Baxter, Keith M; Anderson, Malcolm (10 June 2005). The Streatham groundwater source: an analogue for the development of recharge enhanced groundwater resource management in the London basin. fifth International Symposium on Management of Aquifer Recharge (ISMAR5). Berlin, Germany.
- ^ ISSN 0965-089X. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Stratford Box Pumping Station". www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk. AJ Buildings Library. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d Reservoir not shown on map surveyed 1863-9 (Ordnance Survey, 6-inch, Middlesex XII) but is shown on map surveyed 1893-4 (OS, 25-inch, London XIV).
- ^ Peck, C.B. "Walthamstow Reservoirs No. 4 & No. 5 embankment protection" (PDF). Long-term Benefits and Performance of Dams.
- ^ "METROPOLITAN WATER BOARD: CHIEF ENGINEER'S DEPARTMENT | London Metropolitan Archives". search.lma.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "King of the castle Hampton completes sand bed upgrade". Thames Water. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Coppermills Water Treatment Works, London". MWH Treatment. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "The History of Kempton Park Pumping Station". Kempton Steam Museum. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Chingford South Water Treatment Works" (PDF).
Further reading
- Tomory, Leslie (2017). The history of the London water industry, 1580-1820. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. OCLC 980876952.
- Higham, Nick (2022). The mercenary river: Private greed, public good: a history of London's water. London: Headline. OCLC 1308603433.