There are over sixty bridges and tunnels that cross the River Thames in London. These include London Bridge, the Dartford Crossing, Westminster Bridge, and numerous rail tunnels. Opening in 2025, the Silvertown Tunnel is the newest tunnel, and it was built to reduce the existing strain on other local spans and tunnels such as the Blackwall Tunnel.
There are over sixty bridges and tunnels that cross the River Thames in London. These include London Bridge, the Dartford Crossing, Westminster Bridge, and numerous rail tunnels. Opening in 2025, the Silvertown Tunnel is the newest tunnel, and it was built to reduce the existing strain on other local spans and tunnels such as the Blackwall Tunnel. Connecting the Greenwich Peninsula, home of the iconic O2 Arena, and the Silvertown Docks in London Docklands, the path of the new tunnel almost mimics the course of the Emirates Airline cable car.
WJ was engaged by the main site investigation contractor Fugro Geoservices to undertake a series of pumping tests on both sides of the Thames in order to understand the hydrogeological conditions at the sites. Historically, WJ Groundwater has a long record of being exemplars of pumping test services in the UK. It has undertaken numerous pumping tests on major projects in the vicinity of the Silvertown Crossing, including the recent Thames Tideway, Crossrail, the Millenium Dome and the Jubilee Line extension project in the 1990’s.
This assignment saw WJ tasked with pumping tests in four abstraction wells, two at the former Carlsberg Tetley Factory on the Silvertown side of the river, and two on the Greenwich Peninsula. These wellpoints were accompanied by existing groundwater monitoring wells installed as part of the earlier site investigation works. The client had already completed the drilling of the test wells before WJ Groundwater joined the project site.
Pumping tests such as these are instigated within the earlier stages of investigative works prior to the main tunnelling and construction phases of a major infrastructure project such as the Silvertown Crossing. Each pumping test focused on determining the hydrogeological properties of the Harwich Formation while monitoring the impact of pumping on the multi-level aquifers.
WJ staff completed a four-stage step test comprising 2-hour stages of pumping at 0.4 litres per second (l/s), 0.8 l/s, 1.2 l/s, and 1.4 l/s, a constant rate test at up to 1.4 l/s, and recovery monitoring. The pumping test was accompanied by groundwater quality sampling and testing to a suite specified by the client. The project was a success, and Silvertown Crossing is scheduled to open to the public in 2025.
WJ Groundwater has completed similar groundwater management projects in the UK and globally. Click on the links below to learn more about what we do.
Are you ready to see what else our vision can bring to your projects? Why not speak to our team of groundwater experts today?
Copyright © WJ Qatar 2025.
