{"id":9736,"date":"2018-07-18T15:17:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T14:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=9736"},"modified":"2018-07-18T15:17:39","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T14:17:39","slug":"new-series-uncovers-biggest-engineering-challenge-for-a-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/around-ou\/tv-radio\/new-series-uncovers-biggest-engineering-challenge-for-a-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"New series uncovers biggest engineering challenge for a generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

London’s Victorian sewer network is at bursting point and its tunnels are regularly pushed past their limit.\u00a0 A huge engineering project<\/a> is underway to massively expand the capital’s capacity to deal with its own waste and a new three-part series co-produced by The Open University and the BBC follows the action.\u00a0\u00a0The Five Billion Pound Super Sewer<\/strong>\u00a0started on Tuesday 17 July<\/strong> on\u00a0BBC2<\/strong> at 9pm.<\/p>\n

The super sewer is the biggest upgrade to the sewage system for more than 150 years, but built 90 metres under London, it’s also the biggest engineering challenge for a generation. Cameras have followed workers across the capital for the past three years, as they race to build the enormous tunnel on time and on budget.<\/p>\n

Huge engineering challenges in East London<\/h2>\n

The first episode follows\u00a0the creation of the first stretch of the super sewer in East London.\u00a0 Lead engineer Emmanuel Costes has to build a massive 80 metre deep shaft that connects to the super sewer – and make it watertight using a specialist technique called \u2018slipform’.\u00a0 It’s a risky approach, as it involves pouring concrete constantly for 15 days – and delays could spell financial disaster.<\/p>\n

We follow Steve Perry and his team at the treatment works in Beckton, as they attempt to install the biggest pumps ever used in Britain to deal with sewage. We see how with this growing population, the existing sewers need constant maintenance in order to work at full capacity, and a group of sewer technicians (aka flushers) are sent in to survey the old sewers, and plan for new connections.<\/p>\n

Construction begins<\/h2>\n
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Engineers build a cofferdam structure out into the Thames<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/b>In the second episode on Tuesday 24 July<\/strong>, construction begins in the heart of London. Two key connection shafts along the Thames are to be dug to enable the super sewer to be built. In Battersea, a challenging construction technique called \u2018diaphragm-walling’ is being employed to build a massive 90-metre deep shaft.\u00a0At Tower Bridge, engineers need to build a cofferdam structure out into the Thames to make\u00a0enough space for the second shaft.<\/p>\n

Episode 3 continues on Tuesday 31 July @ 9pm<\/b><\/p>\n

An epic feat of Victorian engineering<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dr Bob Everett, Lecturer in Renewable Technology, was one of the Open University experts working on the series.\u00a0 He\u2019s written about how London\u2019s Victorian sewers came into existence<\/a>, and explains how engineers back then faced challenges just as complicated as today\u2019s:<\/p>\n

\"Crossness\"

Crossness Pumping Station’s decorative interior<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe new Lee Tunnel gives extra carrying capacity to Bazalgette\u2019s Northern Outfall Sewer which is simply enormous. You can walk from Bow to Beckton in East London along the \u2018Greenway footpath\u2019 on top of this vast structure. The pumping stations such as those at Abbey Mills and Crossness<\/a>\u00a0were prestige projects equipped with enormous steam pumps, some of which were named after members of the Royal Family.<\/p>\n

\u201cBalgazette\u2019s men replaced 165miles of old sewers and constructed 1100 miles of new ones, using 318 million bricks, carrying out digging by hand and pioneering the Victorian use of Portland cement.\u00a0 It was an epic feat which transformed how London dealt with its sewage, and freed the city from the fear of cholera.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out more<\/h2>\n

OpenLearn<\/b>\u00a0features articles exploring the history of the London sewers, and takes a deeper look into the environmental issues associated with complex urban infrastructures.\u00a0 To explore all this and find out more about the series, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the series<\/h2>\n

This three part series was commissioned by\u00a0Broadcast & Partnerships<\/b><\/a>\u00a0, and is supported by the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, with particular relevance to\u00a0Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)<\/a>\u00a0(Q65) and the faculty of Arts and Social Science with particular relevance to\u00a0BA (Hons) Environmental Studies<\/a>\u00a0(Q99).<\/p>\n