Water bosses are urging people to only flush the three Ps - pee, paper and poo - down the toilet after grim pictures emerged showing sewers clogged with wet wipes. Severn Trent said giant congealed masses are regularly found in sewer networks because certain items have been wrongly disposed of.
The pictures show examples of where pipes have been found blocked in Coventry and Warwickshire. Grant Mitchell, from Severn Trent, urged people to think twice about what they flush or put down the drain, reports Coventry Live.
He said: "From underwear and false teeth to tennis balls and tyres, we've has some bizarre things make their way into our sewer network over the years. But it's the day-to-day items, such as wet wipes, cotton buds, sanitary products and cooking oils, that can create the biggest issues in our region's sewer networks.
"These giant congealed masses often cause big problems when they arrive at sewage treatment works. However, in the worst-case scenario, they don't even make it to the works, instead blocking sewer pipes, which can lead to wastewater backing up into homes, gardens and rivers.
"Preventing our sewers from becoming blocked could save numerous pollutions each year and would be a key step in our journey to making our regions rivers the healthiest they can be." He added that most sewer pipes only have a diameter of around 150mm – or slightly larger than an average roll of toilet paper – so it can be easy for a blockage to form.
"Sewer blockages are a really horrible thing for anyone to experience," he said. "To avoid blockages we advise waiting for cooking fats, oils and greases to cool before disposing of them in the bin and only flushing the three Ps – pee, paper and poo. Anything else should go in the bin."
