Trash in Sewers Costing English Water Companies $100M a Year to Remove

| | Municipal Wastewater News

Water & Waste Treatment magazine reports the Consumer Council for Water has released a report showing water companies in England and Wales are spending about $109 million (70 million GBP) to clear more than 300,000 blockages. The group is encouraging people to think about what they flush down the toilet.

CCWater represents business and residential water customers and is warning customers if they don’t bin the trash and continue to flush it down the toilet – sewer rates will rise. They interviewed each of the water companies to see how many blockages they’ve experienced from grease and debris, as well as asked them about the strangest item they’ve removed from the sewers.

According to Steve Grebby, policy manager at CCWater:

Seeing your home flooded as a result of a blocked sewer or drain can be devastating. But the good news is we can all play a part in reducing the risk of this happening by thinking more carefully about what we pour down the sink or flush down the toilet.

The CCWater group has started a campaign called ‘Let’s Beat the Block‘ to encourage Brits not to flush these items down the loo…

  • ONLY FLUSH – pee, poo and toilet paper down your loo.
  • DON’T FLUSH – other items including wet wipes or nappy wipes; nappies and pads; cotton buds; tissues; plastic bags and wrappers; sanitary towels; plasters and chewing gum. Bag them and bin them instead.
  • DON’T POUR – cooking fats, oils and greases down the sink or drain. Instead KEEP A FAT TRAP or container in the kitchen to collect waste fats, oils and grease. Many water companies will provide you with a free fat trap.
  • DO ALLOW – small amounts of fats, oils and grease to cool and scrape them into a container or newspaper before binning them

 

Continue reading the report at CCWater’s site >

 

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