Updating London's Victorian sewage system 升級(jí)改造倫敦維多利亞時(shí)代的排水系統(tǒng)
This is London, but it's a story repeated across the United Kingdom. An ageing sewage network, regularly spilling its pungent load.
這里是倫敦,但此處的現(xiàn)象在英國(guó)各地不斷上演。一個(gè)老化的排水網(wǎng)絡(luò),經(jīng)常溢出刺鼻的污水。
But deep beneath the river, the clean-up plan is nearly ready to flow – a five-billion-pound tunnel, the largest and deepest the capital has ever seen.
但在泰晤士河深處,一項(xiàng)清理計(jì)劃已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備就緒:一條耗資50億英鎊的隧道將是首都倫敦有史以來(lái)最長(zhǎng)最深的隧道。
Jonah Fisher, BBC reporter
The reason we're riding on bikes through this tunnel is because it's just so big. It's 15 miles long, all the way across London under the River Thames. The idea behind it is, well, that it will collect the sewage and storm water that at the moment goes into the river, and take it downhill to east London, where it can be processed properly.
喬納·費(fèi)舍爾 BBC通訊員
“我們之所以騎自行車(chē)穿過(guò)這條隧道是因?yàn)樗荛L(zhǎng)。長(zhǎng)15英里,在泰晤士河下方穿過(guò)倫敦。修建該隧道背后的理念是:這條隧道將收集目前直接排入泰晤士河的污水和雨水,將污水向下游輸送至倫敦東部,在那里可以對(duì)污水進(jìn)行妥善的處理?!?/p>
We're shown one of the 34 sewage overflow pipes that are being diverted to join the tunnel, rather than flowing into the Thames.
我們看到了34條污水溢流管道中的一條,這些溢流管道會(huì)與主隧道合流,而不是將污水直接排入泰晤士河。
The tunnel can hold enough sewage to fill 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools but in the future, that still might not be enough, with climate change expected to bring more heavy rain.
這條隧道可容納的污水量可以填滿600個(gè)奧運(yùn)會(huì)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的游泳池,但未來(lái)可能還是不夠,因?yàn)轭A(yù)計(jì)氣候變化會(huì)帶來(lái)更多的暴雨。
Andy Mitchell, CEO, Tideway Tunnel
“The point here is that the solution for London going forward is to do something better with the rainwater than simply throw it in the sewers in the first place.”
安迪·米切爾 泰晤士潮路隧道(Tideway Tunnel)首席執(zhí)行官
“修建隧道的意義在于倫敦未來(lái)的排水解決方案是更好地處理雨水,而不是一開(kāi)始就把雨水排入隧道?!?/p>
Not far upstream, what we throw down the loo is actually changing the course of the river.
在泰晤士河上游不遠(yuǎn)處,倫敦居民丟入廁所的污物被排入河流,堆積起來(lái)后導(dǎo)致泰晤士河的流向發(fā)生改變。
Chris Coode, Deputy CEO, Thames21
“So this is what we refer to as a wet wipe reef.”
克里斯·庫(kù)德 泰晤士河21(Thames21)副首席執(zhí)行官
“這就是我們所說(shuō)的 ‘濕紙巾礁’?!?/p>
A mass of wet wipes and sanitary products now jut out into the river at several points.
大量的濕紙巾和衛(wèi)生用品現(xiàn)在會(huì)從幾處被排入泰晤士河。
Chris Coode, Deputy CEO, Thames21
“What look like leaves are wipes. The best case scenario for us is that the tunnel reduces or even stops new material coming to a reef like this and over time, when we start clearing the material, the reef will shrink.”
克里斯·庫(kù)德 泰晤士河21(Thames21)副首席執(zhí)行官
“這些看上去像樹(shù)葉的東西是濕紙巾。對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)最好的情況是新隧道會(huì)減少甚至阻止新排入的污物以這種方式堆積在 ‘濕紙巾礁’ 上,這樣隨著時(shí)間的推移,當(dāng)我們開(kāi)始清理這些污物時(shí),‘濕紙巾礁’ 才會(huì)變小?!?/p>
After years of abuse, just maybe the tide has turned.
經(jīng)受了多年的摧殘后,泰晤士河的命運(yùn)終于迎來(lái)了轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)。