Fulham resident Anthony Jelley has sent the following letter to the Mayor of London:
Dear Mr Johnson,
With regards to Thames Water's plans, backed by the Government and the GLA, for a super sewer for London, which I understand you are pushing vigorously, I am concerned that you have missed several points at issue:
1. Thames Water decided from the outset that a deep tunnel solution was favourable because it would generate vast extra revenues for the company. It therefore spent 500 times more money researching this option over green infrastructure solutions (£200,000 against £100million)
2. Other cities around the world that have used a deep tunnel solution have found it was inadequate and they have subsequently had to return to green infrastructure solutions after spending a fortune on the wrong solution.
3. Rainwater capture from roofs in London and local use would reduce significantly the quanity of rainfall entering the sewage system.
4. The new Lee Tunnel alone will remove the major of the problem, without the need to spend many billions on a white elephant project with no public health benefits.
5. Smaller green infrastructure projects all around London are far less disruptive to residents and will provide more local jobs, and being incremental are far more affordable at a time everyone is suffering economic hardship.
6. The Thames Tunnel will lead to massive burning of fossil fuels that will only worsen climate change.
7. Increased water rates will push many pensioners and those on fixed incomes into water poverty, and the electorate will no doubt correctly blame this inflation on the government, diminishing your electoral chances. The government and the GLA will be seen as representing the financial interests of an Australian Bank and working against the interests of its own electorate.
8. The Prince of Wales has indirectly got involved in this issue and he is sending out a subtle (or not so subtle) message that he opposes this monstrous tunnel, which flies in the face of everything he has been working to achieve by encouraging the country to work with nature, and not against it. At Prince's Foundation projects around the country, green infrastructure is used as a feature that makes a place more attractive and ecologically superior.
9. The siting of the main drive shaft in Carnwath Road, a densely packed residential area, is likely to lead to physical and mental health problems in the population, despite Thames Waters assurances that nobody will be effected. People have been already expressing suicidal ideas. Since Thames Water is so certain that nobody will be adversely affected, this hypothesis needs to be rigorously tested, using an independent prospective controlled study, adequately and appropriately funded by Thames Water or central government.
Additionally, if it is shown that physical or mental disorders are emerging in the local population, there needs to be a mechanism to halt the work immediately and funding available for those affected to seek redress and damages through the courts, backed by the objective evidence collected. In cases of death or suicide, the statutory corporate manslaughter route needs to be followed, and the decision makers should be dealt with through the criminal justice system. Any study should be peer reviewed and available for publication in journals such as the BMJ and BJPsych. An independent group of medical academics needs to be set up to design such a study to avoid design bias, and the design needs to be put out to consultation.
10. Richard Aylard, chief spokesman at Thames Water admitted on camera on Wednesday 7th December that environmental groups that support a deep tunnel solution have been paid money by Thames Water. There are also likely to be other payments in kind that have taken place between the parties, apart from financial transactions.
Please would you respond to these points individually?
Your sincerely,
Dr Anthony Jelley