Over 450,000 tonnes of storm sewage was discharged into the River Thames last week after downpours drenched the capital.

After the event a clean up of the river had to be carried out due to the number of dead fish and raw sewage seen floating between Kew Bridge and Albert Bridge.

The rainfall on Sunday the 5th of June and Monday the 6th of June forced waste water out of the sewer system through the overflow points that lead into the river.

The Environment Agency director for the south east, Howard Davidson, stated:

“This is a major sewage pollution incident which has caused the death of a huge number of fish.

“We are currently monitoring Thames Water’s clean up efforts and assessing the full impact but unfortunately we may never know the exact numbers of fish that have died.”

Thames Water say they regretted the incident and hoped future solutions would stop such an event
happening again. Martin Braggs from Thames Water stated:

“Incidents like this are clearly totally unsatisfactory in a modern capital city and we have a major programme of work under way to sort the problem out.

“In the west London area this includes a 50 per cent increase in treatment capacity at our Mogden sewage treatment works, which will be complete early in 2013, and the proposed Thames Tunnel.”

A flood prevention scheme in Crosby is making good progress, say water company United Utilities. The £4 million scheme is expected to prevent sewers flooding at times of heavy rainfall.

Sewers in South Road have been replaced with larger diameter pipes and the works have now moved to Bath Street. Drainage engineers are hopeful that the scheme will stop the problems previously experienced, when properties in the area were flooded due to the stormwater not being able to be taken away quickly enough. This excess stormwater regularly spilled into gardens and peoples homes.

The project got underway a couple of months ago and is expected to take until spring 2012 to complete.

The project manager for the scheme Michael Murphy stated:

“By increasing the size of the sewers, we can ensure they hold more water when the heavens open, thereby reducing the risk of flooding.

“This is the kind of important scheme that people’s water bills help to pay for. The scheme means that our engineers will be a regular presence in Crosby throughout the remainder of the year and into next, but we’ll be doing everything we can to minimise inconvenience to motorists, residents and businesses.”

After the prolonged usage of drains, grime, dirt, debris and grease starts to build up. When this happens, the shower, sink, bath and all other drain outlets get worse until they eventually get blocked. Fortunately, there are professional drain cleaning services available for routine drain cleaning and maintenance activities.

Keeping the drain pipes clean can ensure their smooth and efficient functioning. Most individuals do not consider routine drain maintenance activities. In fact, they only consider opting for professional drain cleaning services when they face severe problems with blocked drains. Professional drain cleaning services in London are affordable and beneficial in a number of ways.

Effectively eliminate blocked drains with professional drain cleaning services

As professional drain cleaning services free-up the drains in an eco-friendly manner, hiring one would be a wise decision. Most often, when drains get blocked, homeowners try to solve the problem themselves. They sometimes pour damaging and corrosive liquids into the drainage system. While these materials and liquids do help to clear some of the blockage, people fail to understand that they are actually damaging the drain pipes.

High pressure drain water jetting is one of the most commonly used drain cleaning techniques used by professional drain cleaners. It is a simple and effective way to clear problems with blocked drains. This will not only help you protect your home, but also the environment as well.

Hiring trained professionals for drain cleaning is the best option to get rid of drain blockages and fix problems quickly and effectively.

Every home has its own set of chores and maintenance work that need doing on a regular basis. Some of these chores are as simple as cleaning the windows or mopping the floor, while others are as nasty as taking care of your drainage system. As unappealing as it may be, drain maintenance is still a necessary task. All you can do to make it less of a headache is to adopt proper techniques and hire the services of a good drainage maintenance company.

Regular maintenance

As far as doing the chores yourself is concerned there are a few basic measures which you should take. Performing these drain maintenance tasks regularly will save you a lot of hassle in the long run and avoid hefty plumbing bills.

Drain maintenance agencies

Drain maintenance in London might prove to be an expensive affair if you do not know who to call in the case of an emergency. These drains which we speak about include the pipe lines leading out from your kitchens, bathroom sinks, showers, gardens and your outdoor drains.

A few tips

A very easy way to make sure that the drains are in proper order is to drain boiling water down the drain. After heating the water pour down half a pot, wait for a while and then pour down the rest. This will make sure that all the debris which might be collecting in the drain is washed out. You should do this on a weekly or fortnightly basis.

If you feel that there is some debris which is clogging the drain, then try pouring down half a cup of baking soda and an equal amount of vinegar with the boiling water. This is a stronger solution and will get rid of most kinds of waste which are stuck in the pipes.

United Utilities are warning that some of the main roads in Lancaster will be reduced to a single lane every evening for the next couple of weeks, as planning for the city’s sewer upgrade programme goes ahead.

Various roads will see restrictions imposed while inspections to the current sewer system take place. Most of the disruption caused will be minimal, as the lanes will only be closed between 8:00pm and 6:00am. Traffic management systems will be in place while the investigations are carried out and the roads will be returned back to full capacity every morning.

Heavy rain causes flooding into the River Lune from the sewer system, so when the improvements go ahead the engineers hope the risk of flooding will be eliminated.

The Co-ordinator on the project John Byron stated:

“This first phase of work is to gather vital intelligence so we can produce a bespoke engineering solution fit for Lancaster and protect the local environment and water courses.

“Due to the nature of the works it makes it quite difficult for access so that’s why we need to shut down traffic lanes in the city.

“We are sorry for the disruption but it will be worth it in the long run. The survey work is essential to the scheme.”

The roads affected include North Road, Damside Street, Rosemary Lane, St Georges Quay, Bulk Road and Cable Street.