Thames Water is Tunneling under your house.

[tomdhu]

Zephyr,

Here is an excerpt from an Environment Agency report that refers:-

QUOTE- Two major faults are present in the south side of the London Basin. The Wimbledon Fault extends

from Chessington through Malden, Wimbledon to Deptford. The downthrown block is the north

west side of the fault, and has caused movements of beds as high as the London Clay, which is in

contact with the Lambeth Group at East Dulwich.

-UNQUOTE

Incidentally, I am not a geologist. I studied Mechanical Engineering and now work in the IT sector - so disseminating technical information and drawing conclusions are things that I'm at ease with.

[Jamma]

Since moving to East Dulwich a number of years ago the water has been cut off at least once a year (most famously for a number of days in the long hot summer of 2003) and on every occasion Thames Water have been woeful in providing information or help. (This year I was accused by their helpline of being a bad father because I hadn't stockpiled water to feed/wash my baby. My mistake was taking them at face value when they said the water would be off for just a few hours, it was actually off for 24 hours). Basically what I'm saying is that Thames Water are an utter shambles and I think Tom isn't alarmist enough.

Having said all that - I bet the tunnel boring machine is really cool.

[zephyr]

Thanks Tom.

Interestingly the Thames water site mention nothing of the possible long term effects of the work only the temporary disturbance of the current works. http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/SID-F8AADB64-5D08317B/corp/hs.xsl/2916.htm

Is there any information about any problems with the properties above the ring main itself? I am aware that they tried to keep it beneath roads etc but some of it must have been under residential properties but its been in place for some time now.

[tomk]

Thanks to Tomdhu for bringing this to everyone's attention. I live on Upland but have not been notified in any way, so assume we are not on the route itself (surprisingly, no route map on the TW website). I don't find anything sensational in the first post, unless you count a few capital letters for emphasis and the desire to form an action group to keep residents informed. Seems pretty sensible to me. Shame people tried to shout you down.

[AllforNun]

Is there a complete list of roads anywhere ?

[Amelie]

Thames Water is what is known in law as a Statutory Undertaker, therefore it does not need planning permission to carry out these works. Its only obligation is to notify residents that the work will be carried out, and that is what it has done.

I would personally suggest that Tessa Jowell should be asked to arrange a public meeting with Thames Water so that the affected residents can have their questions answered.

[AllforNun]

I woke up this morning to a large crack running down the inside of my house and through a door frame ! i have just read this thread and done some research and it turns out Aqarius Golf Club in Nunhead which is close to my house and is where they (thames water) dropped this boring machine into the Ground a few days ago !!!!!!

I am stunned.....

[zephyr]

AllforNun Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I woke up this morning to a large crack running

> down the inside of my house and through a door

> frame ! i have just read this thread and done some

> research and it turns out Aqarius Golf Club in

> Nunhead which is close to my house and is where

> they (thames water) dropped this boring machine

> into the Ground a few days ago !!!!!!

>

> I am stunned.....

The boring machine was installed months ago http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/SID-4D862BD5-4346A465/corp/hs.xsl/2922_7304.htm

[AllforNun]

Er....yes.....but it ain't moving that fast....?

[Huguenot]

LOL! I might have guessed that rabble rouser AFN would raise her/his head!

There are certainly overtones of racism in TW's decision, and more than a hint of class war. It wouldn't surprise me to discover that TW re-routed the ring main extension to specifically target the citizens of Nunhead, and they will probably deliberately do a shabby job for the stretches of tunnel underneath that maligned district. ;-)

Franky it also wouldn't surprise me to discover that they were actually stealing Nunhead's water, generated as it is from the hard labour of their benighted citizens, in order to give it to rich white people and their overeducated children.

You will find all evidence of their chicanery here. They also have the barely disguised gall to suggest that in delivering water to us and supporting distribution to a city of 14 million they're trying to do an important job. Cheek.

My advice is to sue the feckers for everything. At least that way we'll stop the bastards from supplying our water and taking away our sh*t ;-)

As an aside, there is a suggestion that they've already built 80 kms of this parasitic tunnel since 1975! At one house every 10 metres that must be around 8,000 households who've been bought off or tortured to silence them about the horrifc damage these foreigners have created.

Or maybe with a tunnel width of 3.5 metres, 60 metres underground, teams of motivated people doing the best job they can and 30 years of experience to learn from they don't do an awful lot of damage!

[Huguenot]

Crikey. I'm now shocked to discover that they claim the plans were agreed through Ofwat - our supposed democratic representatives.

Even if I believed them, which I won't, everyone knows that they're all in on the conspiracy anyway.

Apparently Ofwat claim that there was not one single complaint from the previous 30 years of tunnelling across London. Yeah, right, do you know how many people have gone missing in London every year since then? Fugging loads, and most of them with brick dust in their hair. Messy business.

Can we arrange a baying mob to target the children of employees, and put dog poo on their car doorhandles?

[tomk]

ooh, satire.

[AllforNun]

I have sorted it all out so no worries. We found the driver of this thing in a local Nunhead cafe, and we all got on like a house on fire. He's is going to let us have little drive of this thing early next week. I intend to lift it up and bit and do some handbrake turns round lordship lane....by the time we have finished you may well get your M+S.

Hugo let me know what time you rollerblade down the lane and i'll pop out on the surface and give you a little go in the drivers seat !

[Huguenot]

:))

[nunheadbelle]

According to the website: "The tunnel will be approximately 45 metres (150 ft) below the surface, well below the depth of any service pipes or cables and the London Underground."

As someone mentioned, the traffic light situation at Forest Hill is due to the works. This probably also applies to the roadworks on Lordship Lane, which now seem to have extended to East Dulwich Road.

I remember years ago when they were constructing the reservoir at Nunhead, we lost half of the allotments and the Thames Water premises. On completion , they invited us down inside the MASSIVE concrete reservoir for tea and sandwiches, and wine. This was to hold water for most of South London and was/was to be connected to the Honor Oak pumping station, which is now part of this massive boring process.

[zephyr]

nunheadbelle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> I remember years ago when they were constructing

> the reservoir at Nunhead, we lost half of the

> allotments and the Thames Water premises. On

> completion , they invited us down inside the

> MASSIVE concrete reservoir for tea and sandwiches,

> and wine. This was to hold water for most of

> South London and was/was to be connected to the

> Honor Oak pumping station, which is now part of

> this massive boring process.

Blimey nunheadbelle, your doing well to remember the construction of the reservoir - I thought it was contructed about 1855?

[SteveT]

I was told that the Thames is about 35 metres lower than Barry Rd/Underhill Rd junction, which would be the depth of the tunnelling.

Mind you I was also told by the same TW employee, that the tunnel was to stop Brixton from flooding, so I assumed the tunnel was not for drinking water, but storm run off.

[Huguenot]

As I mentioned, you don't need to guess at answers and come up with solutions that would be threatening.

You only need to look at this well informed site here.

It would appear your TW friend is either misinformed or speculating.

As for the roadworks, the LL activities are nothing to do with the ring main, they're to do with surface level supplies to ED houses. I've found no confirmation about the source of the problem at Forest Hill, but have my doubts that this is anything to do with the ring main extension either.

Why on earth do people feel the need to fabricate complaints and make false accusations in order to stir sh*t against people who are providing them with vital services?

[SteveT]

Huguenot wrote:

Why on earth do people feel the need to fabricate complaints and make false accusations in order to stir sh*t against people who are providing them with vital services?

I believed the TW employee, I was not interested in making false accusations, I was misinformed and gullible enough to accept his explanation.

Sorry if I have inadvertently misled anyone.

[nunheadbelle]

LOL not the original reservoir, they were either updating the original one or constructing a new one in it's place... this was about 10 years ago? Then again, it could have been 1855, I am pretty old ;-)

> Blimey nunheadbelle, your doing well to remember

> the construction of the reservoir - I thought it

> was contructed about 1855?

zephyr Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> nunheadbelle Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> >

> > I remember years ago when they were

> constructing

> > the reservoir at Nunhead, we lost half of the

> > allotments and the Thames Water premises. On

> > completion , they invited us down inside the

> > MASSIVE concrete reservoir for tea and

> sandwiches,

> > and wine. This was to hold water for most of

> > South London and was/was to be connected to the

> > Honor Oak pumping station, which is now part of

> > this massive boring process.

>

[tomdhu]

Thanks for the support, meanwhile for the benefit of those who have had the correspondence from TW, they should know that the law provides for compensation.

Schedule 12, Paragraph 2 of Water Industry Act 1991 provides for compensation to owners of land and property which have been devalued by construction of underground pipe-laying such as this. The Act says:-

QUOTE

If the value of any interest in any relevant land is depreciated by virtue of the exercise, by any relevant undertaker, of any power to carry out pipe-laying works on private land, the person entitled to that interest shall be entitled to compensation from the undertaker of an amount equal to the amount of the depreciation.

UNQUOTE

We intend making a claim and would appreciate hearing from others who might consider this action also. There would be substantial benefits to be gained ( not only cost savings) by acting together and getting a competent lawyer/QC to act on our behalf.

I understand that Thames have had to pay out previously, so the precedent has been established.

Tom

[Mick Mac]

Tom - can I add my thanks to those who have already thanked you for bringing this to our attention.

When you refer to making a claim - is this a claim being made in advance of any damage? or have you already experienced damage? or is this some sort of advance action that is best taken up now rather than later?

Thanks.

[Huguenot]

As OfWat pointed out there have been no claims by the 80,000+ households that could have hypothetically been affected by the 30 year construction of the London ring main, of which this work is an extension. There has been no identified depreciation as a consequence of the project. If anything, the increased stability of water supplies has lead to an appreciation of the value of living in London.

The 60m depth and infrastructure of this project is not comparable with topsoil projects elsewhere.

Whilst I agree that forewarned is forearmed, I can't help but think that throwing cash at legal action now is foolish when evidence suggests there is no significant chance of either damage or litigation success in the future.

[tomdhu]

Mic Mac,

No, it is not a claim for anticipated damage in the future - rather a claim for perceived loss of value of the property as it stands now because, in some people's eyes, the property is property is blighted. The act provides for this:-

QUOTE

If the value of any interest in any relevant land is depreciated by virtue of the exercise....

UNQUOTE

Based on the legal advice so far received there is a legitimate case here. Also, if you did get actual damage later, then have have the opportunity then also to make a claim for compensation for the cot of the repairs.

If you know a local estate agent, you might want to ask him/her and you may find ,as I did, that it would have a negative effect on the perceived vaalue. If you compared two identical properties in the immediate area, one above the tunnel and the other not, then you can imagine what effect that would have on the respective sales values.

Is your property in the line of the tunnel? And if so which road are you on?

Tom

[Mick Mac]

I have a property on Heber Road and Heber Road is on your original list of roads, but my property is at the Lordship Lane end of Heber so I'm hoping it is not directly affected or most at risk.