Olympic village threatened by sewage

The showpiece sites of the London Olympic games could be swamped by millions of gallons of sewage, according to the Environment Agency.

This could lead to the Olympic park, the athletes' village and the main stadium becoming a "foul smelling and unsightly mess", a report by the agency warns.

Two of London's major sewage overflow pipes, carrying up to 30% of all London's waste, empty into the river Lee close to the site of the Olympic village and the main stadium. But, says an expert group looking at the capacity of London's drains, even a moderate summer storm would overflow the drains, sending sewage back up the river Lee on the tide. Computer modelling by the Tideway strategy group suggests that the chances of these sewage overflows happening when the Olympics will be in full swing is 99.5%.

The issue may force the government's hand over the building of a £3.5bn, 22-mile "super-sewer" under the river Thames. The International Olympic Committee has prioritised environmental issues and the London bid promised the "most sustainable Olympics ever".