Unflushables continue to strike in the northern suburbs

The ire of wastewater operators all over the world, troublesome unflushables are continuing to make their way into your sewer network, including at Gawler East and Salisbury, where SA Water crews were called to action last week.

Flushed shirts, socks and underwear caused a blockage on Calton Road in Gawler East, while wet wipes led to an unsightly overflow on Smith Street in Salisbury, with both hauls needing to be removed by the utility.

SA Water’s Senior Manager of Production and Treatment Lisa Hannant said making the right choice at the dunny could spare people the experience of a sewage overflow inside their home.

“Despite our efforts to help curb the unwanted behaviour, we’re still seeing blockages caused by things that shouldn’t have been flushed down the toilet in the first place,” Lisa said.

“Simply put, flushing anything apart from the three Ps – (toilet) paper, pee and poo – risks an overflow inside your home.

“The residents in both Gawler East and Salisbury were extremely fortunate not to experience an overflow on this occasion as the respective blockages occurred at their property’s connection point, which increases the risk of an internal overflow due to the proximity to private pipework.

“Another reason why you should only flush the three Ps, the job on Calton Road actually damaged our crew’s equipment while they attempted to unblock the pipe from the various clothing items that were flushed.

“The ‘spring cleaning’ of clothes caused their jet rodder – which are hoses operated at a high pressure that use the power of water to dislodge and cut through blockages – to become stuck, forcing them to cut the hose at our sewer access hole.

“Our crew had to call in back-up, with a larger jet rodder vehicle – the Predator – arriving on the scene to finish the job by pushing the blockage out to the sewer main where it was retrieved via another access point.

“In this instance, the discarded items should’ve been placed in the general waste bin, and hopefully for the sake of their home, they won’t risk flushing clothes down the loo again."

Wet wipes remain the leading cause of blockages by unflushables across SA Water’s statewide sewer network, contributing to the approximately $2 million the utility spent during the 2021-22 financial year to redirect them from pipes, pump stations and wastewater treatment plants to landfill.

“Unlike toilet paper, they are designed not to disintegrate and instead clump together to create a blockage. Popping them in the bin will help ensure they don’t come back to bite!” Lisa said.

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