Thames Tideway Tunnel: Hammersmith Pumping Station – highly constrained working

Abstract

The Thames Tideway Tunnel project is a deep tunnel system for combined sewer overflow (CSO) control in London, UK. The project controls flows from 34 CSOs by transferring flows to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works for treatment. This paper focusses on the CSO interception works undertaken at Hammersmith Pumping Station, from outline design development through to the detailed design, construction and commissioning. The development of the hydraulic and structural design for the interception of the combined sewage flows at the existing Thames Water pumping station is described. The methods of construction and logistics for these works and for the drop shaft, connection tunnel to the main tunnel and other civil engineering works are also described. There is a focus on the temporary works undertaken to enable works in the pumping station’s inlet channel and for the adjacent interception chamber, the instrumentation undertaken in the upstream catchment sewers and the close working relationship with Thames Water. Design and construction methods and working arrangements accommodated significant constraints, including limited available land for the construction site, working adjacent to a new property development, maintaining a good relationship with the local community and ensuring the pumping station remained operational at all times.