Tideway
The upstream limit of this authority is marked by an obelisk just short of Teddington Lock and to seaward by the London Stone at Yantlet Creek.
As a result of the Marchioness disaster in 1989, when 51 people died, the Government asked the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Port of London Authority, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to work together to set up a dedicated Search and Rescue service for the tidal River Thames.
Rowing has a significant presence upstream of Putney Bridge, while sailing takes place in the same area and also along the coasts of the Estuary.
The annual Great River Race for traditional rowed craft takes place over the stretch from Greenwich to Ham.
The other part of the canal network still connecting on the Tideway is the River Lea Navigation via Bow Lock.
Narrow low-lying belts beside the tidal section of the Thames regularly flood at spring tides, supporting brackish plants.
Its boundary was drawn to capture the riverside strip that formerly hosted many land extensive industries, serving London and the South East.
The decline of these industries has left a legacy of large scale dereliction and contaminated land, but an opportunity for major redevelopment.
The Lower Pool traditionally runs from the Cherry Garden Pier in Rotherhithe to Tower Bridge.
The abrupt collapse of commercial traffic in the Thames due to the introduction of shipping containers and coastal deep-water ports in the 1960s emptied the Pool and led to all of the wharves being closed down.
The Lower Pool area was extensively redeveloped in the 1980s and 1990s to create new residential and commercial neighbourhoods, often using converted warehouses.
(culverted tributaries largely converted to sewers are marked ‡) From Putney Bridge to Teddington Lock, the river passes through inner and outer suburbs such as Hammersmith, Chiswick, Barnes, Richmond on Thames and Ham.
This part of the Tideway is home to most of London's rowing clubs, and is the venue for training and racing throughout the year.
