Victorian Mains to be Replaced in St George's Field

The  work  will  be  undertaken  in  the  W1 and W2 postcode areas, roughly

bounded  by  Sussex  Gardens,  Edgware  Road  and Bayswater Road. Works are
 scheduled to commence in January 2009 with completion due in April 2010.





Neil Franks, Project Manager for Thames Water, said:



 "We  are  committed  to  reducing  leakage  and we can only achieve this by

systematically  replacing  all  of  London's leakiest, cast iron pipes that

date  back  as  far as the Victorian era. Due to the scale of this work, it
 won't happen overnight, but the benefits of the project are already evident
 with leakage now at its lowest ever rate.



"This  is  particularly important as London's water resources are being put

under  increasing  pressure  from the effects of climate change, population
 growth and rising demand for water.



"We  are  committed  to  replacing more than 1,000 miles of water mains by
 2010.



"We  appreciate  that work of this nature does bring inevitable disruption,
 but this huge investment will bring benefits to the area for years to come,
 as we should not have to carry out repairs here in the future.



"We  are working closely with Westminster City Council to reduce the impact on  traffic  and  thereby  minimise  disruption. The  latest  construction

techniques  will  be  used  where possible,  reducing the need to dig long

trenches."