Thames adjusts Teddington recycling project design to reduce community impact

Thames Water has changed its design plans for the Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project, following consultation feedback from over 2,300 people in autumn 2023.

The image shows how the scheme will work; it would only be used during periods of drought and could provide up to 75m litres of water a day.

The two main changes are: 

• Alteration of the proposed construction method for the new recycled water pipeline – Thames said switching from pipejacking to tunnel boring would significantly reduce the visual impact for the community, as four ventilation shafts and construction compounds would be removed from the project design and construction traffic reduced.

• Redirecting the maintenance flow – instead of being continually discharged upstream of Teddington Weir, Thames said the maintenance flow, which would keep the water recycling process in good working order, could be discharged at Isleworth, using existing infrastructure. Treated water would only be discharged upstream of Teddington Weir when the TDRA project was in operation – which is estimated to be once every two years on average.

Thames has planned a series of further community events in October.