News

Pupils and parents who live in a Warwickshire hotspot for sewer flooding now know all about what they can do to help keep their homes a flood-free zone.

A team from Severn Trent visited St Nicolas Primary School in Nuneaton to explain the consequences of sewer misuse, and what it can mean for families.

Malcolm Smith from Severn Trent said: “It’s really important that local children and parents know what happens when our sewers get blocked with things that shouldn’t go down into the drains.

“We’ve cleared blockages caused by wipes or sanitary towels being flushed down the toilet, and by fats and oils going down the sink instead of into the bin. It’s really important that people know our sewers are only designed for paper, poo and pee, which means these blockages really can be prevented.”

In the last year Severn Trent has been called out to nearly 50,000 blockages that have been caused by sewer misuse across its region.

The company looks after 57,000 miles of sewer pipes and collects 32,000 litres of waste water every second. Making sure it’s network is well looked after is important in ensuring that its customers are protected from the devastating consequences of sewer flooding.

“As well as talking about looking after our sewers, it was also a great opportunity for us to talk about ways the children and parents can save water in the home and help look after our environment,” said Malcolm.

Mr Simon Talbot, one of the teachers at St Nicolas Primary School, said: “The children have found it fascinating learning about how waste water is treated by Severn Trent and then returned to the river. No one could believe that we are drinking the same water as our ancestors and even the dinosaurs!

“The children are now full of ideas on how we reduce our use of water so that we are kinder to the environment and help to protect it for future generations. We’ve really enjoyed working with Malcolm this morning!”