Between 1961 and 1995, regulations helped to increase water quality standards by treating all sewage entering the Thames. This is the story of how the Thames went from being ‘biologically dead’ to one of the world’s cleanest rivers in 60 years.
It may amaze you to learn that the River Thames is regarded as one of the cleanest rivers in the world. What is more astonishing is that it achieved that position just 60 years after researchers at London's Natural History Museum proclaimed it "biologically dead." Despite this extraordinary comeback, there is no space for complacency: pollution, plastic, and a growing population continue to pose new and growing risks to the Thames.
From Kemble in Gloucestershire to Southend-on-Sea in Essex, where it runs into the North Sea, the Thames extends for almost 360 kilometers. Since medieval times, it has been under pressure from increasing numbers of city people as it bisects London.
The river became a waste dump, with leaky cesspits and ...