NI Water staff don’t need any frightening blockages this Halloween
26 October 2023 11:25
Halloween is scary enough without any further spooks from the sewers of Northern Ireland! NI Water staff regularly come across blockages which give them a real scare. It is essential that customers take care with what they flush down the toilet and what they are pouring down the sink!
NI Water’s Head of Environmental Regulation, Angela Halpenny, explains: “We are hoping our Wet Wipe Monster will help scare away any members of the public who flush anything other than the 3 Ps down the toilet.
“The main enemy of sewers is the build-up of baby wipes and sanitary products. These form together into a ball of ‘rags’ causing blockages and out of sewer flooding. The Wet Wipe Monster message is simple, ‘only flush the 3, Paper, Poo and Pee’!
Angela concludes: “We have all seen the awful effects of an overflowing manhole in the street or worse, an overflowing toilet in a home. There are more than 1,000 wastewater treatment works across Northern Ireland disposing of about 320 million litres of wastewater each day. The vast majority - 93% - of sewer blockages are caused by wet wipes. In the last ten years, we have spent over £1.5 billion investing in water and wastewater infrastructure, but no amount of investment will completely stop blocked pipes if people continue to flush wipes and sanitary items the toilet.”
If you don’t want the ‘sewage scaries’, check out the bathroom checklist of ‘never flush’ items below:
- all wipes (baby, personal cleansing, toilet and household cleaning)
- sanitary items (sanitary towels, tampons, liners, applicators and backing strips)
- cotton wool, disposable nappies and nappy liners
- condoms, incontinence pads, colostomy bags, used bandages and contact lenses
Don’t give NI Water staff a scare this Halloween- only flush the 3 Ps!
www.niwater.com/bag-it-and-bin-it/ for further information.
ENDS
Notes to editors
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