Coronavirus: Sewer blockages up ‘almost 20%’ during lockdown

A water company has said it has seen sewer blockages rise by almost 20% in some places as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.

A so-called “ragberg”, which is a giant mound of nappies, sanitary products and wet wipes and weighs 40kg, was dragged from a sewer in Maidenhead, in Berkshire.

Thames Water has said it has seen an increase of 10 more sewer blockages than normal a day, as a result of more people staying home due to the coronavirus lockdown.

It also follows the bulk-buying of toilet paper before the lockdown was implemented, meaning others had to turn to alternatives to loo roll – such as wet wipes, kitchen roll, tissues and even newspapers, the company said.

Those items then combine with fats and oils in the sewer system after they are flushed away to create fatbergs and ragbergs – which end up blocking the system.

The firm wants to encourage people to put those items, even if it may not be pleasant to do so, in the bin, rather than down the toilet.

Stephen Sanderson, area network manager for Thames Water, said: “Wipes and things like kitchen roll if used instead of toilet paper can’t go down the loo.

“As nasty as it sounds, if people do use them as a last resort, they need to be put in a bin and disposed of safely.”

According to Thames Water, before the lockdown the company was seeing a reduction of about 10% in blockages, but it has since seen a jump of up to 8% compared with the average for the same month in 2017 to 2019.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Sewer blockages up ‘almost 20%’ during lockdown