Thames Water engineers have begun upgrading leaky pipes on Baker Street.
The £20 million project will replace 235 metres of ageing water mains outside London Zoo and Baker Street tube station.
Phase one of the £20 million project will last eight weeks and is part of Thames’ commitment to save 27.8 megalitres of water which is lost to leaks in the Capital every day.
Martin Padley, London water director at Thames Water, said: “We have more to do when it comes to driving down leakage. That’s why we are prioritising upgrades to our largest and leakiest Victorian pipes, such as those found running below Baker Street, which are over 150 years old.
“We know how busy London streets are and want to apologise to motorists and residents for any disruption caused while we carry out this essential work.
“These pipes run right through the heart of the Capital and are critical to protecting water supply for customers and businesses for years to come.”
Thames Water will carry out the upgrades in phases from April 2024 through to May 2025, with engineering partner Murphy.
The new mains pipes will also be able to carry more water around the city, helping to meet future demand.
In its PR24 business plan submission, Thames said that the cost of upgrading and future-proofing its ageing assets would be almost £20 billion.
To tackle the most pressing issues, Thames has proposed spending £4.7 billion on its assets in the five years to 2030.
This includes replacing service reservoirs, upgrading rising mains, servicing gravity sewers and upgrading wastewater treatment sites.
Earlier this week, Thames proposed adding up to £3 billion more to its spending plans for PR24, bringing its total expenditure to £21.7 billion for the five years to 2030.
This would raise household bills by a further £19 to £627 by 2030, if the full £3 billion of proposed spending goes ahead.
It also takes the industry’s total spending ask for PR24 to just over £100 billion, with all other companies already announcing updates to their business plans.