Cleaning the Thames: Amey Consulting’s role as Systems Integrator on Thames Tideway

14 November 2022
Image of the London eye taken from the river Thames.
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Since 2015, Amey Consulting has been the Systems Integration Contractor on the Thames Tideway Tunnel Project.  The Tideway project aims to make a significant environmental improvement by reducing the amount of sewage released into the river Thames each year. Currently there is an excess overflow of sewage into the river fifty times each year – the Tideway project’s aim is to lower this to a maximum of twice per year. 

Amey Consulting’s role is to design, build, install and supervise the system which controls the operation of the Tideway Tunnel, the Lee Valley Tunnel and Beckton Sewage works, as well as setting up a new Control Centre in Beckton.  

Running along the 25km tunnel underneath the river Thames, Amey Consulting is developing and deploying the system which will monitor and control the operation of the tunnels, such as collecting and sending instructions across the various sites of the tunnel, and control station. Instructions could include, for example, opening a valve to reduce the flow level at a particular site.  

Amey Consulting’s technical expertise is in designing the control system and deploying the systems on site, across some of London’s busiest boroughs and streets.   

Speaking on the impact of the project, Alex Gilbert, Managing Director, Amey Consulting has said:  

“The river Thames is one of the world’s most iconic rivers and the lifeblood in making London the global city it is today. However, London currently relies on a 150-year-old sewer system built for a population less than half its current size. Amey Consulting is incredibly proud to be playing a leading role alongside our alliance partners in upgrading Bazalgette’s Victorian sewage system and providing a cleaner Thames for the people of London and the South-East. This project demonstrates the true value of investing in infrastructure, by cleaning and enhancing our natural world, for people to enjoy and wildlife to thrive in, for generations to come”  

Amey Consulting is currently working at 21 different worksites across London and is working alongside of some of Europe's biggest contractors including Balfour Beatty, BAM, Costain and Ferrovial.  

The project is due for completion in 2025. 

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