WATER CLEANING STATION

by Lilia Stefanova

In the 1980s, the so-called Essex Beds were retained by Thames Water as an operational site. Originally, Thames Water obtained planning permission to fill in the beds to create a temporary pipe store. From that starting point, Thames Water have gone on to occupy the site for a succession
of uses including the project to replace the East London water mains. In the process they have completely trashed the site without any regard for its status as Metropolitan Open
Land. All this has gone on invisibly behind the high fences surrounding the site. My project is about cleaning the river Lea and the surroundings from plastic. During the process trash will be turned into eco bricks by the workshop in the main building. People will learn about the unique approach to cleaning the water with magnets and ferrofluid while also observing the art made from plastic in the gallery.