News

Severn Trent is reminding people in Rugby to bin wipes and only flush the 3Ps – pee, poo and paper – after a local sewage pumping station became almost completely clogged up.

The company recently found that the Avon Mill pumping station, which pushes waste water towards Rugby Sewage Treatment Works, had become overrun with wipes and sanitary items that should never have been flushed down the loo in the first place.

Malcolm Smith, from Severn Trent, explains: “Wipes are one of the biggest problems we have to deal with, and, across the region, we’re removing 1,500 tonnes of them from the sewers every single month.

“The issue at Avon Mill was particularly bad and, after the equipment had been cleaned, there were enough wipes and sanitary items to fill a skip (pictured).

“When wipes block pipes, it can lead to sewers overflowing and flooding into homes and gardens, which is one of the most horrible things that can happen to you.  We don’t want our customers to suffer in this way, and it’s entirely preventable.”

Severn Trent spend nearly £5 million a year to remove wipes and other items from the network.

Malcolm continues: “We need people in Rugby to help us with this by binning their wipes rather than flushing them down the toilet.

“Even if the wipes are branded as ‘flushable’ that doesn’t mean they’ll break down in the sewers, like toilet paper does.

“Blockages often affect your neighbours further down the street so what you do in your home could be causing big problems for friends and relatives living nearby.

“Our message is simple – please don’t flush wipes down the toilet, even when they say ‘flushable’, from our point of view they’re really not!”

If customers do run into problems, either slow drains or a blocked sewer which is Severn Trent’s responsibility, they can be reported at www.stwater.co.uk or by calling 0800 783 4444.