£20m groundwater recycle plan

by Kathy Watson



Government ministers are to meet Thames Water to discuss its £20 million plan to cut rising groundwater levels in London.

Thames plans to sink between 10 and 20 boreholes around the capital to extract groundwater, which could be recycled. The scheme was drawn up following concerns raised last year that groundwater levels were rising fast under some parts of the city.

Rising groundwater resulted in extra millions of pounds being added to the cost of major projects, such as the British Library.

Last summer a group of building and infrastructure owners wrote to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott proposing that a London-wide executive agency should be formed to tackle the groundwater problem.

The water utility then carried out tests and proposed that the extracted groundwater should be recycled on a commercial basis. The group includes the British Property Federation and London Underground.

BPF deputy director general Richard Kauntze is keen to see the work done quickly to help property owners.