Keeping our sewers healthy

South Australians, we know what you’re flushing. Wet wipes, condoms, tampons, tissue… The list goes on!

All of these items don’t belong in our sewer network, so we need your help to keep our sewers healthy and limit the number of blockages and overflows. More than two-thirds of all overflows actually occur inside a customer’s property, so you’re doing yourself a favour by checking your flushing habits!

In 2022-23, the ‘unflushables’ – a nasty group of objects like wet wipes, tissues and paper towels – were directly responsible for more than 3,500 blockages across our metropolitan Adelaide network.

You may have heard of the three Ps, but now it’s time for the four Ps – paper (toilet), pee, poo and products with PROOF they’ve passed the new Australian and New Zealand Flushable Products Standard, AS/NZS 5328:2022.

In May 2022, Standards Australia released this standard defining what products shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet, while outlining testing criteria for manufacturers to determine if certain products are suitable to be flushed.

The standard includes seven stages of testing as part of the certification process, such as clearing plumbing lines and breaking apart readily. Importantly, is also has requirements for clearer labelling so consumers know for certain whether a product is safe for flushing.

While some products are labelled as ‘flushable’, it’s likely they don’t meet the Australian and New Zealand Flushable Product Standard, and are therefore not suitable for our sewer network. When shopping for products, keep a watchful eye on the packaging and look for proof of certification to this new standard, to ensure what you’re putting down the loo is truly flushable.

When items other than the four Ps are flushed down the loo, they can easily become trapped in our sewer pipes. This causes a blockage, which can lead to overflows inside your home, yard or in your street, which can also impact on the local environment.

Smart technology and our sewer cleaning program

Our targeted sewer cleaning program sees us travel around South Australia to clean the 9,000 kilometres of sewer network.

We are trialling smart wastewater technology in several targeted Adelaide suburbs, with smart sensors providing us with data to monitor sewage levels and proactively maintain the network to prevent a pipe blockage.