This ‘concreteberg’ weighing as much as a blue whale is clogging London’s sewers
- Removal of solidified concrete mass estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, utility service Thames Water says
- Traffic disruptions expected in area as workers chip away at blockage with jackhammer drills and high-pressure jets
Utility officials in London say they are working to remove a mass of solidified concrete as heavy as a blue whale that is clogging three sewers.
The “concreteberg” – think iceberg but made of concrete – is thought to be more than 90 metres (300 feet) long and weigh 105 tonnes, said utility service Thames Water in a statement.
Traffic disruptions are expected near the area of the concrete mass, as workers use tools such as jackhammer pneumatic drills and high-pressure jets to chip away at the blockage.
“This is not the first time damage has been caused by people pouring concrete into our sewers but it’s certainly the worst we’ve seen,” said Alex Saunders, operations manager with Thames Water, in a statement.
“It’s very frustrating and takes a great amount of time and effort to resolve.”