Whatever happened to? The Thames Flood Barrier

The Big Splash:

On 8 May 1984, Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by Ken Livingstone, then Labour leader of the GLC, opens the pounds 500m Thames Flood Barrier at Woolwich Reach. Meteorological forecasts warn the Barrier's operators of tidal surges and the gates rise from the river bed to stem any encroaching flood. The Barrier's 65 staff have defended London on 30 occasions.

Murkier Waters:

A political squall broke at the opening. The doomed GLC could not stem the tide of Thatcherism. However, King Ken disrupted the smooth Tory flow by craftily persuading the Queen to preside over a spectacular opening ceremony.

Drowning not waving:

Though Ben Jonson pitied "the poor banksider creature", it was not until 300 drowned in 1953 that the true cost of flooding was appreciated -1.25 million people and 45 square miles of the Thames estuary were under threat. Nevertheless, it took until 1975 before construction began on the Barrier. Meanwhile, according to Whitehall's contingency plan, Parliament was to hoist her skirts and sit in Kingsway's Connaught Rooms. Eventually, the project finished two years late in 1982 and 100 per cent over budget.

Ripples of consequence:

The Barrier has saved London from a pounds 10bn bill 10 times. However, a 1990 report claimed that global warming and rising sea levels would swamp it. Thames Water stated nervously: "We shall have to produce a plan within five to 10 years to heighten the barrier if the present scientific evidence is confirmed." The Barrier wasn't as "foolproof" as The Times had once commented.

Upstream:

Though the Barrier manager, David Wilkes, dismisses dramatic global warming scenarios, he's "waiting for the big one" - last October brought the highest tides since 1968. As we pack away our hose-pipes for the summer, it seems that the deluge will only come with the very disaster the Barrier hopes to prevent: "The big one."