Sewage Overflows Threaten London Olympics

The government is drawing up urgent measures to stop the London Olympics being swamped in millions of gallons of sewage.

Ministers have set up a working group to "urgently consider" how to avoid sewage overflows backing up the river Lee, which runs through the Olympic site.

It comes after a report for the government warned that the games could be ruined by the sight and smell of overflowing sewage from London's outdated drainage system.

The study by Thames tideway strategy group found that even a moderate summer storm would overflow the drains, and send sewage up the river Lee on the tide.

The Olympics site is close to the biggest sewage overflow pumping station in London. The tideway group warned last November that there was currently a 100% chance of sewage overflows in the area between May and October.

To cope with the problem the tideway group recommended that the government build a £1.7bn "super sewer" under the Thames, stretching 22 miles from Hammersmith to Barking.

But the water regulator Ofwat has urged ministers to look at other options, because building a super sewer would add £45 to the annual water bills of Londoners. A separate study, commissioned by Ofwat, warned that the super sewer would be a risky construction project.

But time is running out. The tideway group warned that work would have to start on the super sewer early this year in order to be ready in time for the Olympics.

The new working group will advise ministers by the end of this month on how to deal with the problem. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has asked the group to "develop an agreed action plan to address concerns about sewage pollution of the River Lee which my affect the Olympic Games in 2012".

The group includes representatives from three government departments, as well as the Interim Olympic Development Authority, the Environment Agency and Ofwat.

The inadequate state of London's sewers was exposed by a storm in August 2004. Stormwater overflows prompted billions of gallons of sewage to be pumped into the river Thames, killing thousands of fish.