“I didn't think it had rained much today, but I think that that makes it 23 discharges we have had so far in 2014. What did the project promise ?” Thames Water’s director Richard Aylard said “approximately once a year.” Extracts of the minutes hereunder.“At a meeting of the Sustainable Development Committee held on Wednesday, 4 March 2009at 7:30 pm at the Committee Rooms 1 & 2, Civic Centre, Lampton Road, HounslowWith the permission of the Chair, Richard Aylard spoke on behalf of the applicant, Thames Water. He advised that the application was for environmental improvements to the water quality in the Thames and that the proposals met planning policy guidance and legally binding discharge consents, set up by the Environment Agency.Mr Aylard explained that the flow into the works was not constant and more arrived at the works after it rained, which had to be treated, stored or discharged into the river rather than allowing it to back up. The proposal would provide a new treatment stream, which would increase and improve capacity by approximately one third for better treatment of the sewage.The proposals would not bring any more sewage to Modgen and discharge into the river would go down to approximately once a year.Mr Aylard noted that concerns had been raised about the use and odour from the storm tanks.He advised that the proposals would bring the storm tank use down considerably. He recognised that odour was a real issue for the Council and residents and advised that it was a key issue for Thames Water as well. Mr Aylard gave his absolute commitment that the development would be odour neutral and there would be no additional mosquito problems. He advised that there were agreed protocols to provide tough planning conditions and Thames Water’s commitment would mean that they would seek additional funding from Ofwat to do further work if needed.The application included a 10% margin for population growth. Although this was not expected and did not mean that any more sewage would be diverted to Mogden, there was always a margin allowed for population growth.Mr Aylard advised that he understood local concerns and that, although there were a number of places that the decision could be made, Thames Water would prefer to deal with the Council and follow through on S.106 commitments. He advised that Thames Water could not delay because they had to meet the discharge standards by 2012.Mr Aylard advised that he respected MRAG’s views, but felt that these must necessarily be coloured by an unrelated civil action claim, which would take a number of years to resolve. He advised that he respected Barry Edwards, who he noted would be speaking also and referring to his own concerns about limited sewage capacity at Mogden. He noted that Mr Edwards was a London Waterways Commissioner and Chair of the River Thames Society, who had sent a letter in support of the development.In response to Members questions, Mr Aylard advised that, as far as the usage of the storm tanks was concerned, four times per year was their best estimate and there was a safety margin of six to allow for variability in the weather. The modelling had shown that they would be needed four times per year, which was an improvement on the 20 plus times that they were currently being used.Councillor Dakers asked why the Thames Tunnel could not be extended to Mogden and used for overflow. He also asked, in terms of the S.106 agreement, if there would be a mobile unit monitoring odour away from the site.Mr Aylard advised that the Thames Tunnel was designed to intercept combined sewer overflows. The Tunnel was only a long thin storage tank and it needed to be a certain size to work properly. The furthest the tunnel would go upstream was to Chiswick Ait. Heavy rainfall and sewage would go into the Tunnel and on to Beckton, where it was pumped out. The Tunnel could not be extended because the cost benefit analysis did not allow for the extra four miles to Mogden. Mogden was also a tributary into the Thames, providing clean water at other times of the year. The other issue was that the tunnel would not be finished until 2020 and Thames Water had to deliver improvements to Mogden by 2012.”
Steve Taylor ● 4082d