Latest news with #Tideway
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
King Charles Takes an Uber Boat Along the River Thames to Visit London's 'Super Sewer'
King Charles' busy week of royal events continued on the water! The monarch, 76, boarded a hybrid Thames Clippers Uber Boat in Westminster on Wednesday, May 7, for a ride along the famous London waterway. He met with employees as he traveled on the Mars Clipper, one of three boats the Thames Clippers company currently has serving 24 piers along the River Thames. He also chatted with CEO Sean Collins, learning more about the company's investments in hybrid and hydrogen power. 'It's a nice way [to travel],' the King remarked, according to The Daily Mail. Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty King Charles in London on May 7, 2025 King Charles in London on May 7, 2025 Related: King Charles Urges Climate Action on Behalf of His Grandchildren: 'They Will Be Living with the Consequences' After a 10-minute ride, the royal group disembarked for a visit to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project at Bazalgette Embankment. Known as the London 'super sewer,' the tunnel was officially opened by the King after 10 years of construction. Measuring 25km long and able to hold more than four million gallons of sewage, the Tideway project was built to help divert waste away from the Thames and keep the iconic river cleaner. The London sewers were originally constructed during the Victorian era, when the capital city held just around four million people. The system has struggled in recent years due to increased population, rainfall and climate change. TOBY MELVILLE/POOL/AFP via Getty King Charles in London on May 7, 2025 King Charles in London on May 7, 2025 Tideway CEO Andy Mitchell welcomed the King, showing off the project's high-tech tracking systems — which have measured nearly two billion gallons of waste diverted away from the Thames since August 2024 — and unveiling a plaque bearing his name. 'The King was fascinated with detail and the quality of the space,' Mitchell later said of the monarch's visit. 'The team were absolutely thrilled with his comments on the quality of the work here. In an average year, there are 40 million tons [of sewage] and we will be preventing the vast majority of that from going into the river.' King Charles also met with some of the 25,000 workers on the project and spoke with poet Dorothea Smartt, whose poetry about the River Thames is inscribed on the Tideway's ventilation columns. TOBY MELVILLE/POOL/AFP via Getty King Charles in London on May 7, 2025 King Charles in London on May 7, 2025 Related: King Charles Sports a Top Hat at First Buckingham Palace Garden Party of the Season with Queen Camilla The monarch has been a lifelong proponent of environmental causes and conservation projects, and his royal calendar often reflects that passion. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! On Tuesday night, King Charles attended the premiere of Ocean with David Attenborough, the latest nature documentary hosted by the beloved English biologist, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The film, which is set to debut in cinemas before airing on NatGeo and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, focuses on sharing 'the story of how we can, and must, restore the glory of Earth's vast, interconnected waters,' according to a press release. Read the original article on People
BBC News
07-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
King Charles jokes with workers at Thames Tideway super sewer
Kings visits Thames Tideway Tunnel 'super sewer' The super sewer at Abbey Mills Pumping station photographed before completion last year King Charles has told workers at the Thames Tideway Tunnel a "humongous horror" of rain is bound to fall. He was responding to the information the "super sewer" worked better when it rained, as he marked the completion of the 10-year work. The tunnel has been fully connected since August last year and prevents half a million tonnes of sewage from entering the river every year. Tideway - the firm behind the project - said the it would reduce sewage pollution into the river by 95%.
Rhyl Journal
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
King jokes with workers during visit to London's super sewer
Charles visited the Thames Tideway Tunnel on Wednesday to mark the completion of the 10-year project, which is designed to protect the River Thames from sewage pollution well into the future. The 25km long sewer will intercept, store and ultimately transfer sewage waste away from the Thames with a combined capacity of 1.6 million metres squared. Charles met construction workers and storemen at the project (Toby Melville/PA) Tideway said the super sewer will reduce sewage pollution into the river by 95%.Thames Water will then operate the system as part of its London wastewater network. The King met construction workers and storemen at the project in Embankment, central London, to see first-hand the benefits of the system and see the technology in action. When told some sewage work is made easier when it rains, he joked: 'Don't worry, it's all going to come in one humongous horror.' The project took 20,000 people eight years to build, costing £4.5 billion, and is one of the largest engineering projects the capital has seen in recent years, stretching from Acton to Beckton. Charles was given a tour of the project by Andy Mitchell, chief executive of the Thames Tideway Tunnel Project (Toby Melville/PA) The tunnel is 7.2 metres in diameter, the equivalent of three London double-decker buses, and the two connection tunnels are five and two metres in diameter, respectively. Four giant tunnelling machines were used to excavate the main super sewer. During his visit, Charles met poet Dorothea Smartt, whose poetry about the Thames is printed on the site's ventilation columns. The King asked: 'Have you done a different poem on each one?' Thames Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell, who gave the King a tour of the site, said: 'The King was fascinated with the detail, the quality, the humanity of the space. 'The team was absolutely thrilled the King commented on the quality. There's huge passion here.' The king travelled to the project on the Mars Clipper, an Uber Boat usually used by passengers (Toby Melville/PA) To get to the site, Charles rode the Mars Clipper, an Uber Boat usually used by passengers into and out of central London. He waved at a group cheering from a passing boat. To Uber Boat chief executive Sean Collins, the King asked: 'Does it (Uber Boat services) go all year round?' The pair laughed about Mr Collins' experience rowing on the Thames.
Western Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
King jokes with workers during visit to London's super sewer
Charles visited the Thames Tideway Tunnel on Wednesday to mark the completion of the 10-year project, which is designed to protect the River Thames from sewage pollution well into the future. The 25km long sewer will intercept, store and ultimately transfer sewage waste away from the Thames with a combined capacity of 1.6 million metres squared. Charles met construction workers and storemen at the project (Toby Melville/PA) Tideway said the super sewer will reduce sewage pollution into the river by 95%.Thames Water will then operate the system as part of its London wastewater network. The King met construction workers and storemen at the project in Embankment, central London, to see first-hand the benefits of the system and see the technology in action. When told some sewage work is made easier when it rains, he joked: 'Don't worry, it's all going to come in one humongous horror.' The project took 20,000 people eight years to build, costing £4.5 billion, and is one of the largest engineering projects the capital has seen in recent years, stretching from Acton to Beckton. Charles was given a tour of the project by Andy Mitchell, chief executive of the Thames Tideway Tunnel Project (Toby Melville/PA) The tunnel is 7.2 metres in diameter, the equivalent of three London double-decker buses, and the two connection tunnels are five and two metres in diameter, respectively. Four giant tunnelling machines were used to excavate the main super sewer. During his visit, Charles met poet Dorothea Smartt, whose poetry about the Thames is printed on the site's ventilation columns. The King asked: 'Have you done a different poem on each one?' Thames Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell, who gave the King a tour of the site, said: 'The King was fascinated with the detail, the quality, the humanity of the space. 'The team was absolutely thrilled the King commented on the quality. There's huge passion here.' The king travelled to the project on the Mars Clipper, an Uber Boat usually used by passengers (Toby Melville/PA) To get to the site, Charles rode the Mars Clipper, an Uber Boat usually used by passengers into and out of central London. He waved at a group cheering from a passing boat. To Uber Boat chief executive Sean Collins, the King asked: 'Does it (Uber Boat services) go all year round?' The pair laughed about Mr Collins' experience rowing on the Thames.
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
London's Thames Tideway Tunnel now fully connected
London's new £5bn super sewer has been fully connected and is already stopping half a million tonnes of sewage from entering the River Thames, the firm behind it has 10 years of construction work, the last of the 21 connections of the Thames Tideway Tunnel was made to the city's Victorian sewage 16-mile (25km) pipe will divert 34 of the most-polluting sewage outflows that have been discharging into the chief executive Andy Mitchell said: "This is another significant step forward – with this final connection complete, the super sewer is fully up and running and protecting the Thames." London's combined sewage system handles human waste and rain runoff together, but the capital's population has outgrown the new system is expected to stop 95% of the sewage spills that previously would have polluted the river. Connections have been made at locations including the starting point of the University Boat Race at Putney Embankment; Chelsea and Victoria Embankments; Blackfriars Bridge in the heart of the City of London; and King Edward Memorial Park in Thames Tideway Tunnel connects with the 4.2-mile (6.9km) Lee Tunnel, an existing Thames Water asset, creating the London Tideway Tunnel system. The infrastructure project, funded by Thames Water customers, will reduce sewage discharges into the Thames and create lasting benefits for biodiversity, recreation and public health, a Tideway spokesperson project is not yet fully complete, as it will still need to be tested in storm conditions over the coming Water will then take over the operation of the system. Environment Secretary Steve Reed described the tunnel as "an example of the kind of infrastructure investment needed to clean up our waterways around the country", adding: "This government is determined to clean up our polluted rivers, lakes and seas – and that includes the capital's iconic Thames river."London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said it was an "important milestone" towards cleaning up London's waterways.
