Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1202034
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | XXXX 20XX | 17 T he New River is neither new, nor a river. Built when Shakespeare was alive, the aqueduct is Thames Water's oldest manmade asset, pre-dating some of London's more famous historic sites like Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral by decades. More than 400 years later, not only does it remain a vital artery supplying drinking water to 700,000 Londoners, its very essence runs through the veins of the people who live and work alongside it. Take Thames Water supervisor Gary Stephens. An Enfield lad, he grew up by the river, and even swam in it in those long hot summers of yesteryear. Aged 18 he got a job on the river with the former Metropolitan Water Board. More than 40 years later he's still there. "To really get to know this river you have to let it get under your skin, you have to walk it, you have to feel it and you have to live it," he said. "When I was a kid I used to swim in it, I was brought up with it. Then when I was 18 I got a job here and I said to myself 'I'll give it six months'. That was 42 years ago. "At this particular moment in its his- tory, we are the custodians, the caretak- ers, of this river. There have been many custodians before us and there most certainly will be many more custodians a"er us. We have a duty of care towards it to the best of our ability during our time." Stephens is one of around a dozen people now responsible for the mainte- nance of the 25-mile river, which rises at Chadwell Spring in Hertford and ends at the East Reservoir at Woodberry Wetlands in Stoke Newington. It used to end at New River Head in Islington, but the route has been shortened and straightened over time. The New River follows the contour of the Lee Valley, falling only a few cen- timetres as it gently meanders through rural, residential and industrial areas like www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | FEBRAURY 2020 | 17 Supplying fresh water to London Thames Water's oldest asset is more than 400 years old and continues to supply drinking water to thousands of Londoners. Known as New River, the aqueduct remains a key part of the water company's operations. New Gauge, built in 1856, is where the River Lea joins the New River. In Focus: water resources WATER RESOURCES