Who built the London sewer system?
Joseph Bazalgette, a civil engineer and Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, was given responsibility for designing the London sewer system, working with colleagues including William Haywood.
Questions about London sewer system
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When was the London sewer system built?
The intercepting sewers of the London sewer system were constructed between 1859 and 1865, and the Victoria Embankment, which carries part of the network, officially opened on the 13th of July 1870.
Why was the London sewer system built?
The London sewer system was built after the Great Stink of 1858 forced Parliament to address a River Thames that had become an open sewer and a source of repeated cholera epidemics.
Where does the London sewer system discharge its sewage?
The London sewer system discharges sewage through the Northern Outfall Sewer to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works and through the Southern Outfall Sewer to Crossness, with smaller works serving areas such as Mogden and Edmonton.
How long is the London sewer system?
The London sewer system includes six main interceptor sewers totalling almost 100 miles, fed by 450 miles of main sewers that in turn collect from about 13,000 miles of smaller local sewers.
What is the Thames Tideway Tunnel and how does it connect to the London sewer system?
The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a 25 kilometre storage-and-transfer tunnel with a diameter of 7.2 metres, built beneath the Thames riverbed to cut sewage overflow from the London sewer system into the river. It was approved in 2014, cost £5 billion, and was completed in February 2025.