Yorkshire Water is urging people in North Yorkshire to only flush the 3Ps – pee, poo and (toilet) paper – down their toilet, after its blockages team removed a mass of wet wipes from a Grewelthorpe sewer.
The removal of the mass of wet wipes took over an hour and required more than 1,000 litres of water to jet wash the blockage free and return the sewer to normal operation.
Mark Hammond, head of customer field services at Yorkshire Water, said:
We are regularly called out to remove blockages caused by wet wipes in our region, despite our warnings and information on packets not to flush them.
We spend millions of pounds every year on clearing these blockages – money which could be spent on improving our network and investing in innovative new technologies.
Wet wipes are the most common cause of blockages and can result in sewage flooding in homes, neighbourhoods and the local environment, which is not pleasant for anyone concerned.
It also takes a great deal of water to jet wash these blockages free so it is important people consider what they flush down their toilets as the impacts on the network and environment can be significant.
