28 June 2018
Council is appealing to all residents to take note that wet wipes should not be flushed as they block the Tweed sewer system.
“We find that the incidence of flushing these convenient but costly items reduces when we publicise the issue but then creeps back up as soon as the community loses sight of the problem,” said Connections Engineer Elizabeth Seidl.
The cost of removing a wet wipes blockage to our gravity sewer main starts at $400 and can go into the thousands very quickly as more staff and equipment are needed to clear the blockage or equipment is damaged.
The same happens if it’s a blockage at a sewer pump station – the cost starts at $200 but rises quickly as the task gets more complex.
“It should be no surprise to anyone that wet wipes of any description should not be flushed. Every wastewater utility in the world has been campaigning for years to get these products properly labelled as non-flushable, lawsuits have been launched and won and photographs of giant fatbergs have circulated widely.
“Here at Council we have had a hands-on experiment on all our service counters since August last year practically demonstrating that wet wipes do not break down in water. Every single wet wipe – regardless of whether it is labelled flushable, non-flushable or biodegradable – is still intact after 11 months in the water while the toilet paper has turned to mush.”
Photo 1(JPG, 95KB)
Caption: Customer Service Officer Lisa Carruthers is disgusted that the wet wipe is as good as the day it was flushed.
Photo 2(JPG, 75KB)
Caption: It's here in the Tweed, at Piggabeen, and the equipment used to remove it was damaged in the process.