Concreteberg: A 100-meter "solid as a basement" sewer dam under Islington is expected to cause chaos around Goswell Road and Hall Street, according to Thames Water | Islington, Archway, Finsbury Park and Holloway News

Concreteberg under the streets of Islington. Image: Thames Water

According to Thames Water, an "industrial" operation involving pneumatic drills and high pressure jets will be required to destroy the 105 tonne concrete blockage, which will result in a major disruption of traffic on Goswell Road and Hall Street.

This colossal undertaking to remove the concreteberg, which, according to water officials, is the largest ever undertaken to date, will begin next week and will cost at least several hundred thousand pounds, but potentially up to £ 1 million. Tank truck pumps are on standby and can be deployed 24 hours a day to protect the environment and prevent neighboring properties and businesses from being overwhelmed by wastewater from the rock mass.

Alex Saunders, chief operating officer of Thames Water, said: "Normally, blockages [like fatbergs] are caused by the grease, oil and wet wipes that accumulate in the sewers, but unfortunately in this case it is a very hard concrete. He is there and placed in the Victorian brickwork, so we have to chew him to get him removed.

"This is not the first time people have poured concrete into our sewers, but it's certainly the worst we've seen. It is very frustrating and takes a lot of time and effort to solve. We are now doing everything we can to address it as quickly as possible, ensuring that our customers do not suffer from this senseless abuse of our network. "

It is understood that Thames Water will take legal action to recover costs as it identifies the person or persons responsible for the presence of concrete in the sewers.

In May, a construction company in Hoxton flooded sewer pipes with sewer pipes, but Thames Water told the Gazette that the incident was unrelated to an investigation.

Caroline Russell, a member of the Green Party Assembly throughout London, said: "This is a scandalous blockage. It's hundreds of cubic meters of concrete. This is not someone who casually cleans a bucket, it's much more likely to be a concrete injection into a development that went wrong. What is shocking is that no one even noticed that they had lost so much concrete.

"Cleaning up this facility will take a few months and during this time, residents may be flooded with sewage from their homes whenever it rains heavily and surface water is abundant. And all local roads will have large trucks that will remove the concrete as it is fragmented.

"I'm sure Thames Water will work hard to protect local homes from sewage and hope that they can find the culprits so that Londoners do not have to pay to clean up this vandalism." thanks to our water bills. "

Every year, Thames Water, which serves 15 million people across London and the Thames Valley, spends 18 million pounds sterling to clear obstructions from its sewers. The company is committed to investing heavily to improve the network and increase monitoring as part of its business plan for 2020-2025 – using up to 200,000 new digital depth monitors. # 39; sewer. He also proposed to reduce pollution by 30%.