Wet wipe woes as sewers see startling surge

In an effort to flush out the unsavoury flushing behaviours of Adelaideians, SA Water has lifted the (toilet) lid on a spike in wet wipe-induced sewer blockages for 2024, which have set an unwanted record.

Flushed wet wipes have been directly responsible for more than 1,600 sewer blockages so far this year – the highest amount ever recorded for Adelaide’s sewers during a single year.

A fitting move on World Toilet Day, SA Water has also revealed where the prime offenders are flushing from, with Seaton, Athelstone and Paradise leading the way respectively with a collective 59 blockages.

SA Water’s Senior Manager of Infrastructure Planning and Strategy Dr Daniel Hoefel said a significant spike in blockages between April and July has influenced this year’s figures.

“After a positive shift in people’s flushing behaviours in recent years, we were hoping to share more good news about Adelaideians’ wet wipe woes this World Toilet Day, however, the numbers don’t lie,” Daniel said.

“With another six weeks of the year to go we’ve well and truly surpassed the previous record, which came in 2022 and saw 1,344 blockages across our city’s sewers.

“Fast forward to today, that figure currently sits at 1,667 – our highest of any year – and continues to climb.

“Interestingly, we experienced a large spike in sewer blockages from wet wipes between April and July, and they were responsible for more than half of this total, with June delivering the highest monthly total at 298.

“The most concerning point is that two-thirds of these blockages occurred at a property’s connection, which increases the risk of an overflow inside the house. People are rolling the dice every time they flush!”

While some wet wipes products are labelled as ‘flushable’, it’s likely they don’t meet the new Australian and New Zealand Flushable Products Standard, and are therefore not suitable for Australia’s sewers.

Mr Hoefel said not all wet wipes are created equal nowadays.

“You may have heard of the three Ps, but now it’s time for the four Ps – (toilet) paper, pee, poo and products with ‘proof’ showing they’ve passed the standard and can safely break down in our sewers,” Daniel said.

“The standard has opened the door for manufacturers to design wet wipes that are suitable for flushing, and is the result of concerted collaboration between the manufacturing and water industries.

“I encourage the community to play their role by keeping an eye on a product’s packaging and looking for proof of certification to this new standard, to ensure what you’re putting down the loo is truly flushable.”

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