Thames Water is getting ready to start work on a £1.5 million project to replace more than two kilometres of ageing cast iron Edwardian water pipes in south London.

Image: courtesy Thames Water 

The project will ensure taps keep flowing for thousands of customers in Crystal Palace for at least another 100 years.

The 112-year-old pipes have been in service since 1909 – three years before the Titanic sank and five years before the start of World War One – and are now being replaced by leak-resistant plastic pipes that will last for generations.

The work is due to start on May 10 and continue for the rest of the year in a rolling replacement programme in a number of streets in South London.

Tom Grant, Thames Water project manager, said:

“We look after 10,000 miles of water pipes in London, many of them still from the Victorian and Edwardian eras which are prone to leaks and bursts.

“We’ve already replaced more than 2,000 miles of these cast iron pipes with new hard-wearing plastic pipes that will provide customers with a more reliable service well into the next century.”