Note: I assume "goring" was a typographical or autocorrect error for or "pouring" (as in stormwater outflow). If you meant the village of Goring-on-Thames specifically, the commercial drainage issues there are covered in the final section. The Hidden Torrent: Why Commercial Drainage is Becoming the Thames’ Biggest Nightmare By [Author Name]
A fatberg is a rock-hard mass of cooking oil, wet wipes, and sanitary products. In 2024 alone, Thames Water removed a 100-meter-long beast from a sewer running parallel to the Thames near Hammersmith. The thing weighed as much as a humpback whale. commercial drainage goring on thames
When these fatbergs block the pipes, the raw sewage doesn't back up into the street—it goes into the river. London’s combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are designed to eject stormwater mixed with sewage into the Thames when the system gets too full. Thanks to commercial grease clogging the arteries, those CSOs are triggering even during light rain. There is a new villain on the banks of the Thames: tile adhesive and concrete washout . Note: I assume "goring" was a typographical or
With the skyscraper booms in Nine Elms, Rotherhithe, and Canary Wharf, commercial drainage systems are being murdered by pH levels that resemble bleach. When construction crews wash cement mixers into storm drains (which flow directly to the Thames, not to treatment plants), the alkaline slurry kills every fish in a five-mile radius. In 2024 alone, Thames Water removed a 100-meter-long
But beneath the waterline, a crisis is bubbling up through the manholes. It is not just rising sea levels or Atlantic storms that keep Thames Water’s emergency planners awake at night. It is —the grease, the concrete, and the "wet wipes" flowing out of London’s kitchens, car washes, and construction sites.
"People think flushing a wipe is harmless," says Sandra Kolve, a drainage engineer with 20 years on the river. "But commercial drainage isn't designed for volume. It’s designed for speed. When a restaurant closes at 11 PM and pours 50 liters of hot oil down the sink, it hits the cold brick sewer and solidifies instantly."