Project information paper

Odour
We need to control air flow to ensure the air in the tunnels is kept fresh and pressure does not build up inside. When air is released from the tunnels, we need to make sure that it does not cause nuisance smells.

Our air management plan will fulfill these requirements and minimise visual impact at our sites. The strategy for the tunnels consists of: forced or active ventilation and treatment: large mechanical fans continuously move air through the tunnel to keep the air fresh when it is empty and treat it before it is released passive air treatment: low pressure created in the tunnels builds up and naturally forces the air out through carbon filters to remove any odours ventilation structures: allowing air to enter and leave the tunnel system.

When the tunnels are empty, clean air would be drawn inside to keep the air fresh. This means that odours will not build up while the tunnels are empty. As the tunnels fill, air that is released from the tunnels would pass through carbon filters. These filters clean the air and remove any odours before it is released. During infrequent, extreme storm events, the air that is pushed out of the tunnel could exceed the capacity of the filters and would be released through the ventilation structures to prevent damage to the odour control equipment. In this case, the excess air would have only partial treatment. We estimate that at least 99 per cent of the time, all air released will be treated, which means that we will meet all regulatory requirements. We are confident that no nuisance odours will be noticeable from the tunnel.

Our active ventilation and treatment facilities would be located within buildings at Acton Storm Tanks, Greenwich Pumping Station and Carnwath Road Riverside. We would also make use of treatment facilities being installed as part of the Lee Tunnel project at Abbey Mills Pumping Station and Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. At all other sites the passive treatment facilities would be located below ground at each shaft. Air would be released out of a ventilation structure, which would be incorporated into the landscape design of the site.

Odour How we developed our air management strategy

At phase one consultation, our proposed air management strategy consisted of buildings containing active air treatment facilities at nine sites and tall ventilation columns at all sites. We have listened to concerns raised during phase one consultation about the size and impact of these structures. Further technical studies have also developed our understanding of how the system will work and have refined the initial design concepts. In our revised air management strategy, we have reduced the number of active ventilation buildings to three by making the facilities at each end of the tunnel more effective. We would also make use of ventilation equipment installed at Abbey Mills Pumping Station and Beckton Sewage Treatment Works as part of the Lee Tunnel project. The use of below ground carbon filters at all other sites allows us to reduce the number of buildings and height of the ventilation structures.

Types of ventilation Active ventilation Passive filters containing activated carbon Sites
1

Acton Storm Tanks Hammersmith Pumping Station Barn Elms Putney Bridge Foreshore King Georges Park Dormay Street Carnwath Road Riverside Falconbrook Pumping Station Cremorne Wharf Depot Chelsea Embankment Foreshore Kirtling Street Heathwall Pumping Station Albert Embankment Foreshore Victoria Embankment Foreshore Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore Chambers Wharf Earl Pumping Station Deptford Church Street Greenwich Pumping Station King Edward Memorial Park Foreshore Abbey Mills Pumping Station* Beckton Sewage Treatment Works Tideway Pumping Station* Beckton Sewage Treatment Work overflow shaft*

Location of active ventilation and passive filters

2 3 4 5
Abbey Mills Pumping Station
21

6
Beckton Sewage Treatment Works

7
8
23

22

TOWER HAMLETS CITY OF LONDON EALING

1 1

NEWHAM
20

10
11 12

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM

CITY OF WESTMINSTER
14 14

15

16

13 14

HOUNSLOW

10 9 9 11 12 12

13 13

Greenwich connection tunnel

17

15 16
18

19

17 18 19

RICHMOND UPON THAMES

3 4

7
6 5

LAMBETH

SOUTHWARK

LEWISHAM

GREENWICH

20

21
22 23

WANDSWORTH

Frogmore connection tunnel

*We will make use of ventilation equipment installed as part of the Lee Tunnel project. There is no new ventilation building.

Odour

Components of the air management strategy

There are various components needed to make our air management strategy work. We do not need all of the components at all of the sites.

The fans may operate 24 hours a day to ensure air is continuously moving through the tunnels, even when they are empty. They would be housed in buildings with appropriate soundproofing. As it is not practical or economic to design the fans and filters to treat all of the air in rare events, occasionally the air that needs to be released from the tunnels would be more than the treatment capacity. In these instances, excess air would bypass the fans and filters and exit untreated through the ventilation column. At Acton Storm Tanks and Carnwath Road Riverside, we plan to build new buildings. At Greenwich Pumping Station, we intend to make use of an existing but disused building within the pumping station building.

Passive filters

Ventilation buildings

We need to be able to move air through the tunnel so that the air in the tunnels remain fresh, even when the tunnels are empty. This will be done by the active ventilation system. A ventilation building contains fans and filters. The fans draw air out of the tunnels and push it through filters, which clean the air before it is released through the ventilation column. We plan to use activated carbon in our filters. This is a standard and proven way of treating air from wastewater operations.

At sites that do not have a ventilation building, we still need to let air move in and out of the tunnels. We will be installing passive filters in below ground structures that contain activated carbon. They are called passive filters because there are no fans that actively blow air through the filters. Instead, as the tunnels fill, the pressure increases and air is pushed through the filters. Once the air passes through the filters, it would be released through a ventilation structure that would be up to six metres high to meet safety and air quality requirements.

Air inlets and outlets

As well as the outlets with activated carbon filters, we need an additional outlet to limit pressure building up in the tunnels. Normally the air would go through the filters but in extreme events the air flow would exceed the capacity of the filters and it would be vented through the pressure release outlet. This structure may be combined with the normal ventilation structure, although at some sites we are proposing to have this structure vent over the river.

The tunnels acts as large tanks, storing the sewage overflows until the flow is pumped out to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. When the tunnel is being emptied, we need to allow air into the tunnels to fill the space created as the tunnels are emptied. This means that we also need to allow air into the tunnels. At most sites, we have combined the ventilation structure from the passive filters, the pressure release outlet and the air inlet into a single structure. This limits the visual impact that these structures may have at the site. Our goal is to be as unobtrusive as the many other vents that currently exist throughout London.

Conceptual view of an active ventilation building.

Conceptual view of ventilation structures.

Odour

How the air management system works

The way that the air management system works depends on what is happening in the tunnels during and after sewage overflows are captured. During dry weather, the tunnels would be empty and ventilation fans would circulate air through the tunnels so that they remain fresh and odours do not build up. This would be about 75 per cent of the time in a typical year.

When it rains enough to trigger a sewage overflow, the tunnels would begin to fill. Rising water levels would force air out of the tunnels at some locations and the ventilation fans continue to circulate air. This would be about ten per cent of the time in a typical year. After a storm, the pumps at Beckton Sewage Treatment Works would empty the tunnels and air would be drawn into the tunnels. This would be about 15 per cent of the time in a typical year.

Once the pumps have finished emptying the tunnels, they will remain empty until it rains again. During each of these stages, the operation of the ventilation system changes.

Main tunnel empty

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Air drawn out of tunnel by fans Air let into/out of tunnel

Air move

ment Air move ment

No air movement
Lee Tunn el
1 2

Main tunnel lling part full

Acton Storm Tanks Hammersmith Pumping Station Barn Elms Putney Bridge Carnwath Road Riverside Falconbrook Pumping Station Cremorne Wharf Depot Chelsea Embankment Kirtling Street Albert Embankment Victoria Embankment Blackfriars Bridge Chambers Wharf King Edward Memorial Park Foreshore Abbey Mills Pumping Station Beckton Sewage Treatment Works Tideway Pumping Station Beckton Sewage Treatment Works overow shaft

3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17

4 5 6

Tunnel scenario
Air movement

Empty
Air circulates through the tunnels so they remain fresh and odours do not build up. Ventilation fans draw air out of tunnels and pass it through carbon filters. Air is let into tunnels at these sites.

Filling part full

Rising water levels force air out of the tunnels, and the ventilation fans continue to circulate air. Ventilation fans draw air out of tunnels and pass it through carbon filters.

Filling full
As the tunnels progressively fill, air cannot move freely and the rising water level pushes air out of the tunnels. Ventilation fans continue to operate, but are not circulating air through all the tunnels.

Emptying
Air will be drawn into the tunnels as water levels drop.
Air move ment Air move ment

Lee Tunn

el

8 9 10 11 12 13

Acton Storm Tanks

Active ventilation sites

Carnwath Road Riverside Abbey Mills Pumping Station* Greenwich Pumping Station Beckton Sewage Treatment Works* Hammersmith Pumping Station King Georges Park Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore All other sites

Air is drawn into the tunnels.

Main tunnel lling full at least part of its length

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

14

15

Air move

ment

16

Lee Tunn

el
17

Passive ventilation sites

Dampers prevent air coming into or out of the tunnels.

The dampers open and air is pushed through the passive filters.

Main tunnel emptying

Pump out for treatment

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Dampers (a type of valve for air) controls air coming into or out of the tunnels.

Air move

ment

*Ventilation fans and filters are being installed at these sites as part of the Lee Tunnel project.

Lee Tunn

el

Standards
We are working to go beyond the guidance issued by the Environment Agency and the draft National Policy Statement for Waste Water, which require that we do not exceed a defined, very low, odour threshold for 98 per cent of the year. Modelling has shown that our tunnels would perform better than these standards with our predicted emission air quality below the threshold for at least 99.6 per cent of the time in a typical year.

Related documents
Project information papers Design Site information papers Technical reports ir management plan A reliminary environmental P information report

For further information see our website: www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk or call us on 0800 0721 086. Phase two consultation (Autumn 2011)

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