MIDLANDS water company, Severn Trent, are urging everyone to work together to help tackle the thousands of blockages they have deal with.
In the past year, water crews at the company have managed and cleared an ‘astonishing’ 28,782 blockages, something they feel could be avoided if wet wipes were put in the bin rather than down the toilet and sink.
To get people thinking about what should and shouldn’t be put down the toilet and sink, Severn Trent is launching ‘Sewer Stories’, showcasing the work of waste teams and some of the weird things found in the sewers including false teeth and car tyres.
One of the biggest offenders of blockages is wet wipes. Even some that say ‘flushable’ or ‘biodegradable’ on the packaging don’t break down like toilet paper, in fact, they just cause massive issues when flushed, including blockages that back up and cause sewage to flood into homes.
Other culprits for causing blockages are kitchen roll, cotton buds, nappies and sanitary products.
When all these are congealed together with fats, oils and greases, which also shouldn’t be put down the sink, they create fatbergs, so everyone is now being asked to be a binner, not a blocker so they don’t fall foul of a blockage and have a very expensive mess to clear up.
Grant Mitchell, sewer blockages lead at Severn Trent, said: “Wet wipes and other unflushables are a huge problem for our sewers, which in turn is causing big problems for our customers.
“We are reminding everyone not to put anything down the toilet other than the three P’s, that’s pee, poo and paper.
“We are working hard to keep the sewers clear and in the best possible working order, but by working together and only putting these things down the toilet it will greatly improve sewer health, which will keep everyone protected from unnecessary hassle of blockages.”
“Our Sewer Stories will get the message across about the work that the teams do, how blockages are managed by our teams and what customers need to do to avoid creating them.”
Visit www.stwater.co.uk/my-supply/sewer-stories for more information.
If you have a problem with blocked sewers or slow drains visit https://www.stwater.co.uk/in-my-area/check-my-area/ or call 0800 783 4444.
