Super sewer opponents have told Thames Water: "Build from Fulham and you'll destroy a whole community."

The utility firm is considering building a huge shaft in Carnwath Road from where it will construct part of the 20 mile-long Thames Tunnel, which will stop sewage leaking into the river.

It argues the area is suitable because it is a brownfield site, with minimum impact on residents. But new campaign group RATS (Residents Against Thames Sewer) says this is misleading and insists schools, residents and the riverside view will be destroyed by a project that could mean up to seven years of noise and pollution.

"It's disingenuous to say this is a brownfield area," said RATS coordinator Nicky Pateman. "The actual site may well be, but it is surrounded by a highly populated residential area – there are homes barely 6ft from the site.

"Thomas's School would be badly affected, while the business park is facing ruin. We can't let this happen."

One residential enclave in the firing line would be Philpot Square, which is directly opposite the sute,

Pauline Rose has lived there for 31 years, and now has her daughter and grandchildren living in a flat above her.

A chronic asthmatic, she recalls her relief when a cement works was shut down on the same site being considered by Thames Water shortly after she moved to the area.

The dust from the works made her condition progressively worse and she now has to take oxygen from a machine for 16 hours a day.

She is worried about the affect construction would have on her grandson, 11-year-old Liam Fitzgerald, who has suffered with asthma in the past, and is unconvinced by Thames Water's claims there will be no pollution.

"Can you give us a 100 per cent guarantee that our children’s health will not suffer in years to come? Definitely 100 per cent no smells? Definitely,100 per cent no dirt and noise?"

Neighbour Linda Lapham, has also lived in the square 31 years and, in common with many residents, has been unhappy with the lack of information from Thames Water.

The former Hurlingham and Chelsea School pupil said: "I didn’t realise it would affect me at first. You read the vague outline of a project and you think it sounds a good idea, but you don’t realise what the actual impact will be. It is only since there has been more publicity that I realised the size of the thing and how long it will take, the mess and torture it will cause.”

Eleven-year-old Liam seemed to sum up the mood. “Nobody in Fulham wants it to happen, so they should listen to us and just think how they would feel if they lived here and if it was happening to them and their families.”

A spokesman for Thames Water said: "The Thames Tunnel will help prevent an average of 39m tonnes of sewage entering the river annually. Millions of tonnes of sewage pouring into London's iconic river each year just isn't right. This a big, and growing, problem that it requires an effective long-term solution. A sewer system capable of taking away all our waste for treatment, rather than dumping it in the environment, is a basic necessity for the capital.

"No final decisions have been taken yet on work sites. We have carried out a four-month public consultation to listen to Londoners’ views and we will be refining our plans. We have a lot more listening still to do, including a full second stage consultation, starting in September 2011."