From “dead” river to miraculous recovery

For centuries, the Thames has flourished with thousands of habitats, flowing through the heart of England. The river is like a jewel in London’s crown. But the river began to be polluted due to domestic sewage, industrial waste and human ignorance. By 1957, scientists at London’s Natural History Museum declared the Thames so polluted that they were “biologically dead.”

After 60 years of being “dead”, the Thames has returned to become one of the cleanest rivers in the world. Today, life is flourishing both above and below the water and its surroundings. This renovation has won the International Thiess River Award worth £220,000 in 2010 for the outstanding restoration and rehabilitation of this “dead river”.

London’s Trash

The Thames is 346 km long, cuts through the south of England, flows through London and empties into the English Channel. As London’s population grew over the centuries, so did the impact of urban life on the river. The river is associated with the life of London but also the “trash can” of London. In the 19th century, under Queen Victoria, industrial waste, untreated sewage, waste from abattoirs – everything went into the Thames and the river became polluted rapidly as a result. By the 20th century, World War II bombings of wastewater treatment plants caused much wastewater to overflow into the Thames. Due to pollution, the amount of oxygen in the water is reduced to the point where no life can survive and as a result fish die in mass. London’s jewel is now named “The Great Stink.” Without oxygen and continuing to suffer from untreated pollutants released, the Thames began stink and “die”.

The Thames was originally the main source of drinking water for people, but when it became polluted, cholera broke out in 1932 and lasted for 22 years, claiming the lives of 35,000 people. At first, no one believed that the deaths occurred because of water pollution. Instead, they blamed “gas” or atmospheric pollution. Cholera was brought under control only after the restoration of the river had begun.

Renovation process

The river had a terrible stench, and “The Great Stink” was finally brought to the attention of the British Parliament during the heatwave of 1857. The heat wave coupled with an outbreak of cholera forced legislators to pass legislation. clean up the Thames. And it was not until 1865 that the plan was agreed. Engineer Joseph Bazalgette served as the “lead architect” of the scheme to divert wastewater from entering the outlets at Beckton and Crossness, leaving the River Thames in central London free of wastewater.

This has greatly improved the situation in central London, but the water downstream has become even fouler. The adoption of wastewater treatment technology 20 years later helped to stabilize the water downstream, but London’s increasing industrialization and population in the early 20th century continued to put strain on the Thames. . The diverted sewage fixed the odor, but the river turned deadly.

Another mission to clean up the Thames was carried out in 1960. Wastewater treatment was further improved, industrial waste was eliminated, oxygen levels increased, and biodegradable detergents were introduced. put to use.

60 years ago, nothing could have survived in the Thames and it was declared biologically dead. But today, it is home to seals, salamanders, dolphins and even the occasional stray whale and dolphin. After being cleaned up, the Thames now has many different species of fish. The “Great Stink” has become a completely different river. The Thames is currently home to 125 species of fish and more than 400 species of mud-dwelling invertebrates. Life is thriving both above and below the water’s surface. Waterfowl, wading birds and many species of seabirds now live in the surroundings of the Thames.

Life back on the river

The Thames “returns from the dead” and is thriving but the latest report for 2021 shows that up to 300 tons of trash is being recovered from the Thames every year. The amount of plastic, especially plastic bottles, is increasing year by year. Keeping the Thames clean is becoming a challenge. Recently, the Royal Holloway Institute of the University of London found that up to 75% of fish in some fish species have plastic fibers in their guts. This shows a lot of problems and there is still much work to be done to keep the Thames clean.

Before that, a campaign started in 2015 by explorer Paul Rose asked Londoners to do the right thing and make sure their trash goes into bins and not into the Thames. The campaign aims to prevent a wave of trash from flowing into the Thames.

In addition, although the treatment of wastewater entering the river has improved significantly in recent decades, the problem has not been completely resolved. Since London’s sewer system was largely built in the 1800s when London’s population was less than a quarter of what it is today, storms caused excess sewage to overflow into the Thames, as a result, the Reports show an increase in nitrates, which negatively affects water quality and wildlife. Therefore, up to now, the river still needs to continue to be improved. The latest solution is that London is working on building the Thames Tideway Tunnel – which will collect and store raw sewage instead of allowing it to overflow into tidal basins.

The 2021 report comes at a critical time and highlights the urgent need for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, known as London’s new super sewer. The new sewer system, due for completion in 2025, is designed to capture more than 95 percent of the wastewater that flows into the river from London’s Victorian sewer system. It will have a significant impact on water quality, making the environment cleaner for wildlife too. The sewer system also acts as a natural flood defense and helps mitigate extreme weather such as hurricanes and floods.

There is so much to experience that cities around the world through which rivers flow can learn from this spectacular cleaning and revitalizing process of the Thames – England. The lesson to be learned for other rivers that are already in or near pollution is to prevent untreated water and industrial waste from spilling directly into rivers, as well as the ongoing measures that need to be taken. is done to prevent plastic and other garbage from flowing into it, keep the water flow clean, bring economic, touristic, landscape value to the city.