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In this episode... Look, it's multi
-kilometres of nearly eight metres
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tunnel through the centre of London.
It's absolutely enormous.
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00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:15,040
A multi -billion dollar super sewer
network.
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00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,200
Some of the things that we are doing
here are cutting -edge technology, world
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00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:20,200
-class engineering.
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00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,020
And the groundbreaking innovations from
history.
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There's a really exciting piece of
important engineering history somewhere
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this building.
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That make the impossible possible.
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London. Spanning over 600 square miles.
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This mighty metropolis is one of the
world's busiest cities.
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But danger lurks beneath these streets.
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London's sewers have reached maximum
capacity.
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The underground network is full of waste
from sinks, toilets, and washing
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machines around the city.
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Engineers tackle five blockages every
hour.
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It costs roughly $1 .3 million every
month.
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And the torrent of raw sewage is
overflowing.
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Archaeologist Kathy Newland is looking
at the root of the problem.
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London's original sewer system was built
150 years ago by Joseph Bazalgette. He
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was considered an engineering genius.
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But time and London has moved on.
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We've grown from a population of 2
million people to more than 9 million
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And the system just can't cope.
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For centuries, London has been
struggling to deal with its most basic
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Before London got its first sewer
system, the city's waste was dumped
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into the River Thames.
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And during the summer of 1858, the hot
weather exacerbated the smell of
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untreated human waste, causing a crisis
known as the Great Stink.
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Today, the mighty Thames is under threat
once again.
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London -born construction engineer Ray
Cantwell lives near the river and knows
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the extent of the problem.
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My mum used to actually be able to swim
across the River Thames from Bishop's
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Park over to Putney. It probably wasn't
recommended back in the day, but ever
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since then it's getting worse and worse.
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It's horrible to see, horrible to work
around.
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It's quite disgusting, actually, if I'm
honest with you.
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London's original sewer was designed for
both sewage and rainwater.
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the water carried the sewage away from
the city.
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Following heavy rain, combined sewage
and water overflows, CSOs, prevented
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sewage from backing into people's homes
by discharging directly into the Thames.
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The emergency CSOs were only designed to
operate once or twice a year.
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But today, with more people and more
rainfall, London's overwhelmed system
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discharges sewage almost every time it
rains.
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Whenever there's over two millimeters of
rainfall in London, these CSOs release
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tons of untreated sewage into the River
Thames.
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Approximately 34 million tons on a
typical year.
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Sometimes when you do have heavy rain
the night before, you can come onto the
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site and actually see the amount of
sewage going into the river and the
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discoloration of the River Thames. This
is the main problem that we have to
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tackle.
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Something has to be done to save the
Thames.
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So engineers have started one of
Europe's biggest construction projects.
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The London super sewer.
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This is a huge undertaking in the center
of London.
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The scale is just enormous.
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A multi -billion dollar feat of
engineering that will extend London's
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sewer system.
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This is exciting. This is the pinnacle
of civil engineering.
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It's the mega -project that get the
attention.
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That's really why I got into
engineering.
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Designed to transform the River Thames,
it's truly groundbreaking.
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Some of the things that we are doing
here are cutting -edge technology, world
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-class engineering.
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So I'm pretty sure a lot of other
countries will follow on from this and
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as a set standard.
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The super sewer will bring the existing
network into the 21st century.
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The combined sewer overflows, or CSOs,
will be connected to 24 deep shafts.
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Under the ground, approximately 20 miles
of tunnels will thread their way
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through the tangle of the city's
subterranean infrastructure.
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At the deepest shaft ever dug in London,
sewage will be pumped the height of Big
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Ben up to the largest wastewater
treatment plant in Europe.
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There are approximately 54 sewage
outpoints across the River Thames.
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The Thames Tideway Tunnel Project aims
to intercept these worst offending CSOs,
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send them into our tunnels and our
shafts down to Beckton Sewage Treatment
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Works. In essence, once the project is
completed, we hope to reduce the amount
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of untreated sewage that is released
into the River Thames every year by
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96%. But such an
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ambitious project is full of challenges.
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How do you prevent millions of tonnes of
toxic sewage flooding the Thames?
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How do you tunnel beneath London's
underground rail network and the river
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itself? How do you pump thousands of
litres of sewage vertically to the
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treatment plant?
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And given how dense London is, how do
you manoeuvre the enormous equipment
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through such limited space?
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It will take some of London's top
engineers to pull it off.
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Behind me, we can see the drop shaft
construction in the background.
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Engineer Josh Roy is overseeing one of
the first stages of construction, the
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drop shaft.
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This is the viewing platform, which is
the platform where the crane supervisor
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or the banksman coordinates lifting into
the shaft.
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And effectively, it's the only position
you can see down into the drop shaft
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during construction.
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The internal diameter of the drop shaft
when it's complete will be 15 meters.
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And currently, we've excavated to
approximately 12 meters below ground
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And we are continuing to 32 meters below
ground level in total depth.
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This is just one of the 24 shafts
engineered to tackle the biggest sewage
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overflows along the river.
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Crucially here, during a normal year, a
number of overflow events occur, which
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means that pollution obviously goes
straight into the Thames.
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So here we're providing a drop shaft,
and in the future, a series of
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interception chambers will take any
overflows directly into the tunnel
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than into the Thames.
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By connecting the existing sewage
overflows to vertical shafts, engineers
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start to remedy the most problematic
areas.
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But buried underground and flooded with
tons of sewage, much of the network will
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be inaccessible for servicing.
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To ensure it functions maintenance -free
for decades to come, engineers must
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tackle a fundamental problem.
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At this site in particular, beyond a
depth of four meters, we are well past
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groundwater level, and therefore we can
expect to have some kind of water
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ingress as we construct.
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and that's one of the biggest challenges
on this site and other sites across the
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00:08:34,380 --> 00:08:35,380
project in London.
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The shafts are reinforced with concrete,
but over time they can be corroded by
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the water outside and the sewage within.
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Under the microscope, concrete is laced
with tiny capillary channels.
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Water and sewage can permeate these
capillaries, causing irreparable damage.
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00:09:01,190 --> 00:09:06,150
Engineering a network to withstand
sustained attack from water and sewage
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of the biggest challenges.
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And buried so far underground, this
project must be designed to last.
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To make it happen, engineers will need
to draw inspiration from the pioneers of
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the past.
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Engineers in London are hard at work
extending the city's underground sewer
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system.
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But buried below the earth, regular
maintenance will be a challenge.
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00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,980
And this super sewer is going to need to
last for generations to come.
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To find long -term solutions.
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00:10:02,820 --> 00:10:07,500
Archaeologist Cassie Newland has
traveled to the ancient city of Knathos
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Greek island of Crete to see a 4 ,000
-year -old Minoan marvel.
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This is Europe's oldest city, the London
of its day.
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This was home to up to 100 ,000 people.
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But sustaining so many people in this
landscape wasn't easy.
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00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,620
So the great challenge of a city like
this is getting enough fresh water for
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people to drink.
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It's very hilly, it's very rocky, the
weather is very seasonal, so you have
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great dry periods followed by torrential
winter storms.
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And all the fresh water has got to come
from springs on the opposite side of the
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valley. Once it's in the city, the real
challenge is moving it around to where
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it's needed.
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00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:57,780
Sometimes the water's going downhill,
but sometimes you've got to pull it up.
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The Minoans thrived here because they
understood a basic principle of water.
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always finds its own level.
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By using a stream on the nearby hill,
they were able to direct the water down
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and up again across the city.
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This allowed the Minoans to build
networks not just for water, but also
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drainage and sewage.
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At the bottom of this hole are in -situ
terracotta pipes.
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00:11:33,740 --> 00:11:36,720
Now, the pipes are designed to bring the
fresh water in for drinking.
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00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,620
They're a very special shape, sort of
like a very long, thin cone. So the
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00:11:41,620 --> 00:11:45,340
entrance at one end is slightly wider
than the exit at the other. This allows
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them to fit together really snugly,
excluding air and making sure that water
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pressure is maintained within the
system.
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Pericot is a fabulous material because
it doesn't matter what you're putting
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through it, whether it's acid or alkali,
it will remain unchanged for thousands
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of years.
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The pipes laid down here are as good
today as they were when they were first
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laid.
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And the Minoans' networks were built to
last.
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I'm standing on the oldest road in
Europe.
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4 ,000 years ago, when engineers
constructed this, they put in a huge
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drain. Take all the water from the
palaces and the courts above it. The
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amazing thing is, it all still works.
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All thanks to meticulous engineering.
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It's got this lovely sinuous line as the
drain makes around the hill. And that's
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for a very specific reason. It's all
about controlling the flow of the water.
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While you want it free -flowing so you
can avoid blockages, you don't want it
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just shooting off down the hill too fast
because that would erode the bottom of
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your drains and cause it to collapse.
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What we have here is very careful
management of that flow rate.
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I mean, this is really very clever.
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And the system is still draining water
from the city today.
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This city -wide network is remarkable.
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Hydraulic engineering began here, and
it's the basis of everything we do
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For London's super sewer, engineers must
ensure the buried network will remain
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as maintenance -free as Knossos.
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The sheer capacity of the shafts will
help control any surges.
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But the bigger problem is waterproofing.
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Existing methods can be challenging for
such giant and complex structures.
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00:13:45,420 --> 00:13:49,780
To apply a sheet membrane waterproofing
system is quite labor intensive.
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It requires access at a later stage
along all sides of the shaft and at
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so it becomes a safety risk.
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At the shaft, there's a revolutionary
solution.
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A chemical treatment is added directly
to the concrete mix.
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Reacting to the water and cement in the
mix, the chemicals grow into crystals.
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filling the capillaries.
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00:14:16,220 --> 00:14:21,080
As the crystals duplicate, they create a
network that stops water from passing
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00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,920
through. The impermeable barrier will
hopefully be as effective as the
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00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:27,860
terracotta used by the Minoans.
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00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:36,320
And because it simultaneously
strengthens and waterproof,
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this innovative treatment will protect
the site for years to come.
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Okay, so we're now batching the concrete
mixture, but just behind me you can see
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two silos that are both batching at the
same time into one pump. The material
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00:14:51,730 --> 00:14:57,110
goes into the hopper behind me, and the
pump then pumps the concrete mixture in
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00:14:57,110 --> 00:15:01,470
this line all the way to the drop shaft
for use in the spray concrete lining
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construction.
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00:15:05,230 --> 00:15:08,130
The exposed ground in the shaft is
unstable.
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00:15:08,700 --> 00:15:10,860
so the mix is designed to set quickly.
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00:15:11,540 --> 00:15:16,520
With excavation temporarily halted and
emergency breathing apparatus on hand,
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00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:17,920
it's safe to enter.
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00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:24,140
Each four -foot vertical lining requires
130 tons of the mix.
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00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:33,320
But there's a risk the mixture will set
before the work is completed.
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00:15:39,660 --> 00:15:43,280
The solution is an ultra -high -pressure
pneumatic hose.
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Don't cross the red and white line,
basically.
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00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:48,480
Simple as that.
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00:15:49,620 --> 00:15:55,840
The mixture is propelled at 4 ,000 psi,
enough pressure to cause serious harm.
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00:15:56,580 --> 00:15:58,400
So here we are at the bottom of the drop
chart.
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We've tested the mixture at the surface,
and now the concrete mixture is being
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00:16:03,060 --> 00:16:07,920
applied as a spray concrete lining,
incorporating the crystallizing agent as
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00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:09,000
waterproofing measure.
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00:16:09,900 --> 00:16:14,520
With the pump working at full power, it
takes just minutes to protect the
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00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:15,520
section.
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00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:19,680
It's great to see the spray concrete
lining application in person.
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00:16:19,980 --> 00:16:22,360
It's really quite a challenge that has
been overcome here.
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00:16:22,620 --> 00:16:27,340
With its longevity assured, the super
sewer network can start to grow.
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00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,960
But building miles of tunnel directly
under the Thames will be a massive
217
00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:38,220
engineering challenge.
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00:16:39,310 --> 00:16:41,210
Just beyond me is the earth.
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00:16:41,690 --> 00:16:42,730
Our purpose is the river.
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00:16:43,330 --> 00:16:45,510
This is a huge undertaking in the center
of London.
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And experts will have to bring in some
cutting -edge technology to get the job
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00:16:51,790 --> 00:16:52,790
done.
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00:17:10,860 --> 00:17:16,300
Extending above and below the River
Thames, London's super sewer is one of
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00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:18,540
biggest engineering projects in Europe.
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00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:25,119
At over 20 sites across London,
engineers are digging tunnels in
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00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:30,440
directions, creating a network nearly 20
miles long to keep up with the city's
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00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:31,540
growing population.
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00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:38,920
But tunneling below one of the biggest,
busiest and oldest cities in the world
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comes with a number of challenges.
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00:17:41,540 --> 00:17:43,820
Just finding space for a start.
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00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:46,720
Here we're surrounded by listed
buildings,
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00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,000
architectural gems and historic
monuments.
233
00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:51,980
And that's just above the surface.
234
00:17:52,260 --> 00:17:55,100
When you get below ground, it's even
more complicated.
235
00:17:55,460 --> 00:17:59,460
You've got all your existing
infrastructure. So that's the Victorian
236
00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:02,040
system. It's your water main, your gas
main.
237
00:18:02,430 --> 00:18:05,010
It's your electric cables and your
telecoms cables.
238
00:18:05,250 --> 00:18:08,190
It's the tube and all the pedestrian
walkways that go with that.
239
00:18:08,590 --> 00:18:14,290
And that horrible tangled network is set
inside 2 ,000 years' worth of
240
00:18:14,290 --> 00:18:18,370
archaeology. And then there's the river,
without which none of this will be
241
00:18:18,370 --> 00:18:22,790
here, but which makes the whole of the
subsoil completely waterlogged and
242
00:18:22,790 --> 00:18:23,810
difficult to dig through.
243
00:18:24,190 --> 00:18:26,590
And they're not just digging any old
tunnels.
244
00:18:26,930 --> 00:18:30,650
These tunnels are big, big enough to
drive a double -decker bus through.
245
00:18:33,030 --> 00:18:37,590
Engineers need a machine that can work
under the most difficult circumstances.
246
00:18:38,130 --> 00:18:43,170
With the weight of London above them,
the team is facing a seemingly
247
00:18:43,170 --> 00:18:44,170
challenge.
248
00:18:44,730 --> 00:18:48,890
The solution can be found below the
battlefields of the past.
249
00:18:59,650 --> 00:19:05,480
On England's south coast, Engineer Katie
Tom is searching for a location that's
250
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:06,620
been all but forgotten.
251
00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:10,380
I'm really excited.
252
00:19:11,220 --> 00:19:15,900
This place is normally closed to public,
but I've got special permission to have
253
00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:19,140
a look inside, so I can't wait to see
what's in there.
254
00:19:22,580 --> 00:19:29,420
Extending almost 600 feet into the
chalky earth, this
255
00:19:29,420 --> 00:19:31,120
is the Windchelsea Tunnel.
256
00:19:34,990 --> 00:19:40,790
Lots of graffiti on the walls down here,
lots of initials, which is quite nice
257
00:19:40,790 --> 00:19:42,130
to see the history of it, really.
258
00:19:43,470 --> 00:19:47,210
The tunnel's origins stretch back to
World War I.
259
00:19:51,750 --> 00:19:57,350
In the trenches of Flanders, Allied
forces devised a plan to dig tunnels
260
00:19:57,350 --> 00:19:58,350
enemy lines.
261
00:19:58,810 --> 00:20:03,430
Once dug, huge caches of explosives
could be detonated inside them.
262
00:20:04,420 --> 00:20:09,700
The Windchelsea tunnel was the secret
test site for this plan and was dug by
263
00:20:09,700 --> 00:20:11,240
extraordinary new machine.
264
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,400
So you can look at the shape of the
tunnel and the length of it.
265
00:20:17,780 --> 00:20:22,780
It's almost a perfect circle. I can
track the movement of what the machine
266
00:20:22,780 --> 00:20:23,780
have been doing.
267
00:20:24,260 --> 00:20:26,900
all the way around to here to take out
the material.
268
00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:31,520
It must have been a big beast of a kit
for its time, really quite
269
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,200
so it's really exciting to learn about
it.
270
00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:40,880
The mysterious machine used here could
hold the key for London's super sewer.
271
00:20:45,540 --> 00:20:50,320
And Katie has managed to track down the
only example left in existence.
272
00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:58,760
I have exclusive access to the Science
Museum group collection.
273
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:00,640
No one is allowed back here.
274
00:21:01,060 --> 00:21:04,660
But I've been told there's a really
exciting piece of important engineering
275
00:21:04,660 --> 00:21:07,880
history somewhere in this building, and
I can't wait to find it.
276
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:13,940
It's like an Aladdin cave.
277
00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:20,020
And here it is.
278
00:21:26,060 --> 00:21:30,460
The Whitaker Tunnel Boring Machine was
the brainchild of English engineer
279
00:21:30,460 --> 00:21:31,620
Douglas Whitaker.
280
00:21:35,820 --> 00:21:38,600
So this is the cutting base, as you can
see here.
281
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:46,180
You've got the buckets on the outside.
There's the cutters here, which would
282
00:21:46,180 --> 00:21:47,500
have excavated the material.
283
00:21:48,980 --> 00:21:51,900
The buckets, as it moved, would have
collected it.
284
00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,360
But Whitaker's amazing machine got off
to a rough start.
285
00:22:00,660 --> 00:22:06,080
The ambitious plan in the World War I
trenches failed, and his machine was
286
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,200
buried under the battlefield in France.
287
00:22:08,820 --> 00:22:13,300
This example was part of a cancelled
attempt to dig a channel tunnel between
288
00:22:13,300 --> 00:22:15,640
England and France in 1921.
289
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:20,820
This one is a little bit larger than the
one that would have cut the Winchelpey
290
00:22:20,820 --> 00:22:24,640
Tunnel. But the size of the buckets is
similar, and that would have given the
291
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,760
uniformity of the markings that we saw
in the chalk, caused by this large
292
00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,820
movement that would have helped the
machine advance out of the tunnel.
293
00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:38,640
But despite its failings, Whitaker's
extraordinary tunneling beast did
294
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:39,640
vital innovation.
295
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,820
Rock contains cracks, faults, and folds.
296
00:22:44,020 --> 00:22:47,900
When tunneling underground, it's crucial
to keep the pressure balanced.
297
00:22:48,220 --> 00:22:53,620
If the excavated material or spoil is
removed too quickly, the sudden change
298
00:22:53,620 --> 00:22:55,200
pressure can cause a collapse.
299
00:22:56,260 --> 00:22:58,000
Whitaker had the solution.
300
00:22:59,340 --> 00:23:04,180
What Whitaker came up with is this
corkscrew conveyor which takes the
301
00:23:04,180 --> 00:23:07,400
collected from the bucket all the way
down the length of the machine.
302
00:23:07,860 --> 00:23:10,380
This is a very simple mechanism, really.
303
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:17,450
The material goes in as it's being
excavated and then as it moves... around
304
00:23:17,450 --> 00:23:24,150
material is taken along the whole end of
the machine and then is collected
305
00:23:24,150 --> 00:23:25,190
right at the end.
306
00:23:25,470 --> 00:23:26,470
It's simple.
307
00:23:28,770 --> 00:23:32,570
Whitaker's corkscrew technique meant
that he could remove just the right
308
00:23:32,570 --> 00:23:34,610
of spoil at any given time.
309
00:23:35,710 --> 00:23:40,750
The corkscrew and the cutting mechanism
were calibrated at the same rate to make
310
00:23:40,750 --> 00:23:43,810
sure that that was balanced correctly to
stop the tunnel from caving in.
311
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:51,100
Whitaker's Tunnel Boring Machine, or
TBM, was the forerunner of a technique
312
00:23:51,100 --> 00:23:52,800
used all over the world.
313
00:23:55,880 --> 00:24:00,800
Whitaker's combination of the rotating
cutting base and the screw conveyor
314
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,120
really has become the blueprint of all
future TBMs. This is such an amazing
315
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:06,120
piece of engineering.
316
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:13,980
And today, engineers will need to use
the principles put in place by Whitaker
317
00:24:13,980 --> 00:24:18,260
dig the massive tunnel network that will
make up London's super sewer.
318
00:24:35,660 --> 00:24:41,060
Engineers in London are hard at work on
a new super sewer to accommodate the
319
00:24:41,060 --> 00:24:43,280
city's rapidly growing population.
320
00:24:47,300 --> 00:24:53,020
Using principles originally engineered
by Douglas Whittaker, seven giant tunnel
321
00:24:53,020 --> 00:24:56,920
boring machines, or TBNs, will dig the
tunnel network.
322
00:24:58,860 --> 00:25:02,980
Some of these machines have a diameter
the length of a London bus.
323
00:25:03,230 --> 00:25:06,050
and weigh up to nearly 1 ,500 tons.
324
00:25:07,890 --> 00:25:09,150
And here she is.
325
00:25:09,810 --> 00:25:13,350
Each TVM has been specially engineered
for the job.
326
00:25:14,110 --> 00:25:18,050
This is Rachel, our tunnel boring
machine, 8 .1 meters in diameter.
327
00:25:18,770 --> 00:25:23,890
With all the backup gantries, it's going
to be 147 meters long when complete.
328
00:25:25,090 --> 00:25:29,710
Engineer Mark Shepard is doing a final
inspection of this machine's cutting
329
00:25:29,710 --> 00:25:31,490
before it's deployed under London.
330
00:25:32,430 --> 00:25:34,550
So this is the cutting wheel of the
machine.
331
00:25:34,790 --> 00:25:36,770
It's around 100 tons on its own.
332
00:25:37,130 --> 00:25:40,990
This will do all the cutting, so we're
mining through mostly London clay in
333
00:25:40,990 --> 00:25:42,050
section of Tideway.
334
00:25:43,330 --> 00:25:48,610
This is an earth pressure balance
machine, so this cutter head will be
335
00:25:48,610 --> 00:25:50,490
mined clay at pressure.
336
00:25:50,750 --> 00:25:54,150
The red screw at the bottom there will
rotate, and that will take the muck out.
337
00:25:54,890 --> 00:25:59,630
Like the Whitaker machine, the screw
helps maintain pressure at the tunnel
338
00:26:00,030 --> 00:26:02,110
It runs right through the heart of the
machine.
339
00:26:02,330 --> 00:26:06,690
And because it's so long, that can keep
a plug of material as we're excavating
340
00:26:06,690 --> 00:26:08,470
and hold the pressure in the face.
341
00:26:08,890 --> 00:26:13,290
That's rotating full of material, and we
can control the speed of that.
342
00:26:13,490 --> 00:26:17,230
We have a guillotine door as well on the
end so we know exactly how much muck is
343
00:26:17,230 --> 00:26:19,770
coming out. We're not taking too much
out.
344
00:26:20,950 --> 00:26:24,570
Because there are so many underground
obstacles to work around.
345
00:26:24,970 --> 00:26:30,370
The TBMs will excavate deeper than all
existing infrastructure directly under
346
00:26:30,370 --> 00:26:31,370
the river.
347
00:26:35,030 --> 00:26:38,730
Lowering them down the drop shafts is a
precision operation.
348
00:26:41,130 --> 00:26:47,310
But once in position, they'll advance 26
feet per day to connect all the shafts
349
00:26:47,310 --> 00:26:48,310
together.
350
00:26:49,850 --> 00:26:51,990
The project is just enormous.
351
00:26:53,870 --> 00:26:58,830
Site manager Paul Hallows is venturing
down to one of the biggest tunnels on
352
00:26:58,830 --> 00:27:02,190
project to check out one of the mega
machines in action.
353
00:27:03,890 --> 00:27:05,450
It's absolutely enormous.
354
00:27:07,830 --> 00:27:09,910
So, we're at the front of the TBM now.
355
00:27:10,390 --> 00:27:13,450
Just beyond me, you can see, that's the
bulkhead.
356
00:27:13,650 --> 00:27:17,130
Just beyond the furthest away part, you
can see the TBM.
357
00:27:17,410 --> 00:27:20,490
That's where the cutting disc is, which
is turning about 2 RPM.
358
00:27:21,130 --> 00:27:22,490
Beyond that is the earth.
359
00:27:22,940 --> 00:27:24,020
Our purpose is the river.
360
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:25,720
We're at the business end.
361
00:27:26,180 --> 00:27:30,660
All the spoil in front of the TBM,
that's being cut away, then dropping
362
00:27:30,660 --> 00:27:34,380
into the invert in the front of the
machine there, coming up this screw
363
00:27:34,380 --> 00:27:35,380
here,
364
00:27:35,740 --> 00:27:39,940
dropping down into the conveyor, then
it's away all the way down the tunnel on
365
00:27:39,940 --> 00:27:43,520
conveyor belt, up to the surface, and
gone from sight.
366
00:27:43,980 --> 00:27:49,140
As the cutter moves forward, Paul and
the team build giant concrete rings to
367
00:27:49,140 --> 00:27:50,280
support the new tunnel.
368
00:27:51,980 --> 00:27:55,820
The further the TBMs travel, the more
segments are needed.
369
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:01,900
Up at the surface, a seemingly endless
supply keeps the TBMs fed.
370
00:28:03,220 --> 00:28:08,120
Since London streets can be difficult to
navigate, the segments are transported
371
00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:09,740
by barge along the Thames.
372
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:16,900
Once safely on site, they're craned down
the shaft to join the TBM's automated
373
00:28:16,900 --> 00:28:17,900
production line.
374
00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:21,840
Each tunnel ring gets brought into the
tunnel by the loco.
375
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:23,700
It's put on the storage cassette.
376
00:28:24,020 --> 00:28:27,420
From the storage cassette, it's picked
up, carried up to the front.
377
00:28:31,460 --> 00:28:37,760
At the front of the machine, the
segments are picked up by suction,
378
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,900
where they need to be, and secured in
place.
379
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,840
We excavate in 1 .8 -meter increments.
380
00:28:47,370 --> 00:28:52,150
So every time we've advanced 1 .8
meters, we retract the rams, we build
381
00:28:52,150 --> 00:28:53,150
these concrete rings.
382
00:28:53,350 --> 00:28:56,030
These concrete rings, 1 .8 meters wide.
383
00:28:56,710 --> 00:28:59,110
There's eight of these sections make a
complete ring.
384
00:28:59,650 --> 00:29:01,490
There's over 40 tons per ring.
385
00:29:01,810 --> 00:29:06,490
Once a complete ring is then built, then
we can excavate, start again, start
386
00:29:06,490 --> 00:29:07,550
another 1 .8 meters.
387
00:29:07,910 --> 00:29:11,530
This is what we're going to be doing for
the next 4 ,500 meters.
388
00:29:16,430 --> 00:29:21,270
The giant tunnel boring machines are the
solution to the London super sewers
389
00:29:21,270 --> 00:29:23,770
seemingly impossible engineering
challenge.
390
00:29:24,130 --> 00:29:28,630
They can quickly and accurately thread
their way through London's web of
391
00:29:28,630 --> 00:29:29,790
underground obstacles.
392
00:29:30,210 --> 00:29:34,150
And it's all thanks to tunneling
pioneers like Douglas Whitaker.
393
00:29:35,330 --> 00:29:38,670
The engineers of the past, you can only
be impressed by them.
394
00:29:39,290 --> 00:29:41,850
Everything we're doing now is as
mechanized as possible.
395
00:29:42,210 --> 00:29:45,410
Now we're just concrete lines, rapid
progress.
396
00:29:46,370 --> 00:29:48,830
Much better environments to work in, but
hats off to them.
397
00:29:49,230 --> 00:29:50,410
I wouldn't have liked to have been
around then.
398
00:29:55,770 --> 00:30:00,230
But now the super sewer team faces
perhaps their greatest challenge.
399
00:30:00,710 --> 00:30:04,870
So this is the lowest point in London.
So this project is unique in terms of
400
00:30:04,870 --> 00:30:10,510
depth. They'll need to invent a way to
remove the sewage from deep below
401
00:30:31,050 --> 00:30:35,190
The super sewer is one of the most
ambitious networks in the world.
402
00:30:35,730 --> 00:30:41,470
By extending London's old sewer sit,
engineers are planning to prevent
403
00:30:41,470 --> 00:30:44,130
of tons of sewage from flooding the
Thames.
404
00:30:44,410 --> 00:30:49,210
The Lee Tunnel pump shaft in East London
is the final stage of the tunnel
405
00:30:49,210 --> 00:30:56,150
network. At nearly 125 feet wide and 288
feet below ground, it's
406
00:30:56,150 --> 00:30:57,690
the network's lowest point.
407
00:30:57,950 --> 00:31:00,630
and is the deepest shaft in all of
London.
408
00:31:02,210 --> 00:31:06,490
The shaft is so deep, it could swallow a
big bend here. And there's a really
409
00:31:06,490 --> 00:31:07,490
good reason for that.
410
00:31:07,530 --> 00:31:11,330
It's about creating the perfect self
-cleaning velocity.
411
00:31:11,710 --> 00:31:13,830
And you do that by controlling
gradients.
412
00:31:14,310 --> 00:31:16,350
Too shallow, nothing goes anywhere.
413
00:31:16,790 --> 00:31:21,450
Too steep, and the liquids separate out
from the solids, leaving them behind to
414
00:31:21,450 --> 00:31:23,250
accumulate and form blockages.
415
00:31:28,170 --> 00:31:30,850
So we're now on the west side of the
pumping station.
416
00:31:31,150 --> 00:31:36,510
At the pumping station, engineer Jad
Budiya is venturing all the way down to
417
00:31:36,510 --> 00:31:37,510
bottom.
418
00:31:38,310 --> 00:31:42,450
So this is the lowest point in London
that you can physically and safely get
419
00:31:43,530 --> 00:31:48,330
From here, accumulated sewage must now
be pumped to the treatment plant for
420
00:31:48,330 --> 00:31:54,330
processing. But pumping tons of semi
-solid material almost 300 feet
421
00:31:54,330 --> 00:31:56,390
upwards is a huge challenge.
422
00:31:57,550 --> 00:32:02,550
To find a solution, engineers looked to
another region that was once drowning in
423
00:32:02,550 --> 00:32:03,610
problems of their own.
424
00:32:07,930 --> 00:32:13,810
The Friesland region in Holland is a 2
,100 square mile area of flat land
425
00:32:13,810 --> 00:32:15,150
bordering the North Sea.
426
00:32:16,350 --> 00:32:21,130
Its history is punctuated with fierce
storms and devastating floods.
427
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,820
Marine engineer Keith Storm has seen the
damaging effects on the land.
428
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:33,560
Friesland is one of the wettest areas,
and that's because north, west, and
429
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:35,680
south, we are surrounded by water.
430
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:38,000
So that was always our biggest problem.
431
00:32:38,620 --> 00:32:40,220
So with a couple of days of storms,
432
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:45,040
the enormous amounts of water inland,
which could be millions and millions of
433
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:49,840
cubic meters, would take months to get
rid of. So you really need a significant
434
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:51,640
engineering solution to do that.
435
00:32:53,290 --> 00:32:58,590
Saving this land seemed an impossible
challenge, but one Dutch engineer
436
00:32:58,590 --> 00:32:59,630
he had the answer.
437
00:33:04,470 --> 00:33:09,950
In the early 20th century, Dirk
Frederick Wouda perfected the pump
438
00:33:12,690 --> 00:33:15,690
And in 1920, he built this.
439
00:33:17,910 --> 00:33:20,050
The Wouda Pumping Station.
440
00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:27,160
At the time, the largest and most
technologically advanced steam pumping
441
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:28,160
in the world.
442
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:35,060
And it could hold the key to the super
sewers problem.
443
00:33:36,060 --> 00:33:40,280
I love coming in here, and it's a
beautiful time to see the machine
444
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:42,160
smoothly and steadily.
445
00:33:44,020 --> 00:33:47,040
The heart of the station was the
centrifugal pump.
446
00:33:51,490 --> 00:33:56,710
Inside a centrifugal pump, a shaft
-driven blade called an impeller
447
00:33:57,250 --> 00:34:02,150
As the impeller accelerates, fluid is
sucked through the inlet port at the
448
00:34:02,150 --> 00:34:06,730
center. The velocity propels the fluid
to the edges and out through the
449
00:34:06,730 --> 00:34:08,090
discharge port at the top.
450
00:34:11,510 --> 00:34:15,830
Well, as a marine engineer, on board a
ship, we use also centrifugal pumps.
451
00:34:16,090 --> 00:34:18,270
But I've never seen a size like this.
452
00:34:20,330 --> 00:34:24,030
The giant pumps are driven by enormous
steam engines.
453
00:34:24,770 --> 00:34:29,670
And these steam engines were originally
fed by eight large boilers.
454
00:34:30,350 --> 00:34:35,170
So these massive pumps require a lot of
horsepower, and that's why we require
455
00:34:35,170 --> 00:34:39,690
each engine to have 500 horsepower,
which is equivalent to a beautiful
456
00:34:39,690 --> 00:34:40,690
car.
457
00:34:43,429 --> 00:34:47,989
Just to give you an idea of the capacity
of all the eight pumps, if you fill up
458
00:34:47,989 --> 00:34:50,800
this whole building... up to the rooftop
with water.
459
00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,159
And all the pumps are running like now
on a steady speed.
460
00:34:54,500 --> 00:34:57,720
The whole building is empty in two
minutes only.
461
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:04,820
The ability to shift such volumes so
quickly is thanks to the gravity
462
00:35:04,820 --> 00:35:06,580
engineering inside the pump.
463
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:11,780
The first thing we will do is build the
impeller.
464
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:18,740
And we do it very simply by attaching
the tube onto the pencil.
465
00:35:19,190 --> 00:35:20,190
Like this.
466
00:35:20,670 --> 00:35:21,670
Cutting the envelope.
467
00:35:24,050 --> 00:35:28,750
And then attach the impeller into the
drill.
468
00:35:29,110 --> 00:35:31,510
So now my impeller is ready.
469
00:35:31,810 --> 00:35:34,890
Now we are going to prime the pump as we
do in the main unit.
470
00:35:35,670 --> 00:35:39,010
To prime the pump, water is sucked into
the tube.
471
00:35:40,510 --> 00:35:42,250
The pump is now primed.
472
00:35:42,550 --> 00:35:48,490
And if we start rotating... Oh, there he
goes.
473
00:35:49,870 --> 00:35:54,210
The centrifugal furnace has overcome the
gravity, and the pump has started
474
00:35:54,210 --> 00:35:56,330
pumping and getting very wet.
475
00:35:59,890 --> 00:36:05,290
The brilliant simplicity of this
ingenious system allows WUTA to continue
476
00:36:05,290 --> 00:36:08,590
pumping vast amounts of water, even
today.
477
00:36:11,970 --> 00:36:16,450
So even 100 years old, these pumps are
still doing their job.
478
00:36:16,730 --> 00:36:19,850
and are very important to keep the
country dry.
479
00:36:21,610 --> 00:36:27,310
And in order to keep their super sewer
running smoothly, engineers in London
480
00:36:27,310 --> 00:36:31,870
will have to adopt some of these same
techniques with the modern -day twist.
481
00:36:51,050 --> 00:36:57,890
Deep below the ground in London,
engineers have installed the solution to
482
00:36:57,890 --> 00:36:59,570
super sewers pump problem.
483
00:37:03,690 --> 00:37:07,110
Dwarfing even those at the Wouda pumping
station in Holland.
484
00:37:07,410 --> 00:37:13,030
These centrifugal pumps are so large and
so powerful, they must be encased
485
00:37:13,030 --> 00:37:15,510
within concrete 13 feet thick.
486
00:37:16,270 --> 00:37:19,770
The technology of centrifugal pumps has
been around for a long time.
487
00:37:20,250 --> 00:37:23,330
The only difference with the lead tunnel
project is that the size of them are
488
00:37:23,330 --> 00:37:26,090
unique in the sense that they've never
been made to this size.
489
00:37:26,530 --> 00:37:30,590
The pumps are really big here. They're
effectively two stories high.
490
00:37:32,930 --> 00:37:37,690
Weighing over 50 tons with a 7 .2 -foot
diameter impeller,
491
00:37:38,650 --> 00:37:43,990
one pump can move the equivalent of 3
,000 liters per second, and there are
492
00:37:43,990 --> 00:37:44,990
pumps.
493
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:52,080
The centrifugal pump can actually cope
with a lot of solid material, and it
494
00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,180
would be very difficult to actually take
this up to ground level without pumping
495
00:37:55,180 --> 00:37:56,740
and using the pumps that we have.
496
00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:02,420
No other pumps would have the capacity
or the duty to pump out the lead tunnel.
497
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:08,600
Like Wouda in Holland, the pumps need a
lot of energy to drive them.
498
00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:13,900
On the next floor are six motors
weighing more than 30 tons each.
499
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:23,200
These motors generate 3 .5 megawatts, so
very large power usage for the motors
500
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:24,200
to drive the pumps.
501
00:38:24,340 --> 00:38:29,240
These motors have a central shaft, which
then is connected to the impeller
502
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:30,240
itself.
503
00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:35,880
These giant motors are power -hungry,
and part of the solution to this problem
504
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:36,960
is above ground.
505
00:38:38,660 --> 00:38:43,500
This is Becton Sewage Treatment Works,
the largest plant in Europe.
506
00:38:49,710 --> 00:38:54,430
We're standing on the flow collection
chamber where the six pumps pump up it
507
00:38:54,430 --> 00:38:58,950
this level. They then transfer the flows
through steel pipes up to the inlet
508
00:38:58,950 --> 00:39:01,390
works for distribution into the sewage
room it works.
509
00:39:03,050 --> 00:39:08,290
At the sewage works, the wastewater
settles in giant sedimentation tanks
510
00:39:08,290 --> 00:39:12,410
bacteria breaks down and removes
impurities, including ammonia.
511
00:39:13,290 --> 00:39:18,590
The process releases natural gas, some
of which can be recycled for energy
512
00:39:18,590 --> 00:39:20,130
production across the site.
513
00:39:22,070 --> 00:39:28,510
With the pumps running at full capacity,
Becton processes 2 .3 billion liters of
514
00:39:28,510 --> 00:39:29,730
wastewater each day.
515
00:39:30,850 --> 00:39:33,670
Enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice.
516
00:39:35,290 --> 00:39:39,790
And all this cleaned wastewater is
returned safely to the Thames.
517
00:39:41,290 --> 00:39:44,890
It was a brilliant experience to see the
pumps operating for the first time
518
00:39:44,890 --> 00:39:45,930
three years ago.
519
00:39:46,230 --> 00:39:48,590
So it's a great feeling working to clean
up the River Thames.
520
00:39:49,290 --> 00:39:50,650
And I feel proud.
521
00:39:59,910 --> 00:40:05,610
Since its inception in 2010, the Super
Tour has grown 30 kilometers from west
522
00:40:05,610 --> 00:40:06,610
east London.
523
00:40:08,010 --> 00:40:12,930
This megaproject is one of the biggest
infrastructure works in Europe,
524
00:40:12,930 --> 00:40:17,630
six of the biggest waste water pumps
ever used in Britain and the biggest and
525
00:40:17,630 --> 00:40:19,410
deepest shaft ever sunk in London.
526
00:40:19,710 --> 00:40:25,090
It has a storage capacity of 600 Olympic
swimming pools worth of fluid.
527
00:40:26,410 --> 00:40:31,890
By the time it's completed in 2024 and
the 34 worst polluting overflows are
528
00:40:31,890 --> 00:40:36,130
collected, pollution in the temps should
be reduced by up to 97%.
529
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:49,260
By connecting the most polluting CSOs to
24 new shafts, the super sewer will
530
00:40:49,260 --> 00:40:52,220
revolutionize the existing Victorian
network.
531
00:40:53,060 --> 00:40:57,660
Millions of tons of sewage will be
carried along nearly 20 miles of
532
00:40:57,980 --> 00:41:02,760
ending at London's deepest shaft, 288
feet below ground.
533
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:07,540
After being pumped up to the largest
treatment works in Europe, billions of
534
00:41:07,540 --> 00:41:10,780
liters of safe wastewater can be
returned to the Thames.
535
00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:19,940
The new super sewer has pushed the
boundaries of construction.
536
00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:25,140
The feeling now is when we come into the
tunnel, both myself and all our team,
537
00:41:25,340 --> 00:41:26,900
immensely proud of where we've got to.
538
00:41:27,260 --> 00:41:29,380
It's a very empowering position to be
in.
539
00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:41,480
By drawing on the innovators of the past
and conquering the many challenges, the
540
00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:45,020
project will improve the lives of 9
million Londoners.
541
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:50,600
I want to have an impact on the London
area, the local residents, and being a
542
00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:53,840
Londoner myself, I have a clear passion
for making sure this project is a
543
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:54,840
successful one.
544
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:58,260
And its success will be far -reaching.
545
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:04,440
The new super sewer will serve this city
for the next century and beyond.
546
00:42:04,780 --> 00:42:07,780
It will reconnect the people of London
with their river.
547
00:42:08,340 --> 00:42:13,160
The success of the project will stand as
testimony for the ingenuity of today's
548
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:14,160
engineers.
549
00:42:18,510 --> 00:42:23,790
The Super Sewer team has succeeded in
making the impossible possible.
550
00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:28,390
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