Apart from scrapping plans for 2005 and perhaps staging the Championships in 2007 instead, Picketts Lock is now the only option.
At the moment, according to Jowell and the Sports Minister Richard Caborn, the idea of scrapping the pledge to host the Championships in 2005 is not being discussed.
To press that message home Caborn was due to fly to Canada this afternoon for a fiveday visit to the Championships which will include meetings with senior International Amateur Athletics Federation officials.
He will meet IAAF president Lamine Diack and general secretary Istvan Gyulai before flying home on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: "The message we will be conveying to the IAAF is that 2005 will go ahead in London.
"That is a manifesto commitment. I think the fact that it's there as a manifesto pledge has calmed any worries the IAAF might have had about our plans to host the Championships."
A sentence in a manifesto is one thing but one suspects the IAAF might not be feeling quite so calm if they saw the current state of Picketts Lock. But then Sydney's Olympic Stadium was built on a rubbish dumb at Homebush Bay.
Lee Valley Regional Park, the local authority coordinating the plans, and Enfield Council remain committed to cleaning up the Picketts Lock area, especially after they get the approval from Carter and the necessary funding needed to complete the project.
A spokeswoman for Lee Valley said: "We are obviously aware of the problem of flytippers down at Picketts Lock. There is ongoing work to stop people dumping their rubbish and our park rangers already do as
"But it's an ongoing battle and it's not easy to keep on top of it. Once we get the go-ahead resources will be released to make sure the area is totally cleaned up. It would be one of the first things we would do."
A spokesman for Enfield added: "We are already installing CCTV cameras in the area of Picketts Lock Lane to try and stop people fly-tipping in that area. We want to make sure that we project north London and Britain in the best possible light."
Others remain unconvinced. Former double Olympic champion Lord Coe last month branded the plans for staging the Championships "chaotic".
He added: "The main thing is we do have the World Championships in 2005 and they are mightily important to reinvigorate British sport.
"I'm sure the IAAF say they have confidence but the reality is we are looking like a laughing stock."
No one expects this year's Championships in Edmonton to come close to emulating the feel-good factor of last year's Sydney Olympics.
But with each Championships the bar is being raised higher and higher. The images which will be beamed back to Britain from tomorrow night's opening ceremony in Canada will reveal another country proud in their ability to stage a sports party for the world.
One can only hope that when London's turn comes the opportunity to prove ourselves is not thrown away.
