Most major towns and cities in the UK likely have some form of modern storm water
overflow system on some scale or other, C.O.T.S is the largest in the South East by a long
shot. On its upper levels the original Victorian sewers once had overflow outfalls
that went out to sea, to resolve this less than ideal situation any overflow during storm conditions is
now diverted via a series of 80ft dropshafts into a 5km long storage tunnel. Once the
sewer levels have receeded the tunnels contents are pumped back into the sewers and continue on their way.
The combination of Victorian and modern engineering in the upper levels of this system
make for a feature full drain of monster proportions. Such a location demands respect
and careful attention to your surroundings, complacency is not an option, not an enviroment
for the inexperienced. I don't know of anyone to date who has seen Eddie's Vortex, the largest
and most central of the series of dropshafts, and not felt a momentary twinge of fear, a sweaty palm moment for sure.
