Plumbing Connection 4-2015

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3 2 PLUMBING CONNECTION SUMMER 2015
that shouldn’t be flushed into big,
congealed clumps – or ‘fatbergs’ – in
the sewer.
“Around 75% of Sydney’s sewer
blockages involve flushed wet wipes
which often need to be cleared by hand
by Sydney Water staff”, Mr de Rooy
said.
“Flushed wet wipes are costing
Sydney Water around $8 million every
year to remove, a costly issue utilities
around the world are battling.
“This isn’t simply a cost to the water
utility companies,” Mr de Rooy said.
“Many customers have told us that
based on the ‘flushable’ labelling of
wipes they thought it was okay to flush,
only to be hit with expensive plumbing
bills.
“One of our customers notified us
that they had been hit with a $16,000
plumbing bill as the result of wipes
blocking the sewer pipes on their
land and there have been many other
examples of plumber’s bills to remove
wipes in customer’s sewer pipes
ranging from $100s to $1000s.
“We don’t want our customers
to flush away hard-earned dollars
on clearing their blocked drains or
through higher water bills to deal with
the issues these wipes can cause in
sewers.
“The impact on the environment
can also be dramatic, with overflows
caused by sewer blockages
contaminating local creeks, rivers and
even beaches.
“Our research has shown that while
women were buying the wipes, men
were using them as ‘replacement toilet
paper’. Most of the men were found to
be aged 15 to 44, and stated they liked
using wipes ‘because of the texture’.
“Our message to customers is
simple,” Mr de Rooy continues. “Keep
wipes out of the pipes - bin it, don’t
flush it.”
Contact:
Join the fight against wet wipes in pipes
and go to
or
The impact on the environment can be dramatic, with overflows caused by sewer
blockages contaminating local creeks, rivers and even beaches.
WET WIPES