Climate Changed
There May Be a Green Future for Britain’s Victorian Sewers
- Recovering heat from waste water could supply third of London
- Ministers seeking new ways to cut pollution from heating
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The U.K.’s sewer system, built in the 19th century to halt cholera epidemics, may play a role in tackling climate change as it unfolds as the environmental crisis of the next 100 years.
Some of the pipes in Britain’s 624,000-kilometer (388,000 miles) sanitation network can get as warm as 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit). That’s because water flowing into the system from toilets and plug holes has collected heat from the air around and from household appliances.