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But, recently, as well as the usual waste coming into the works, they’ve had to deal with the triple threat of fats, oils and greases, also known as FOG.
The congealed mess is not only horrible to deal with it, it can also clog up the works and, before it even gets there, it can block sewers, possibly leading to the dreaded fatberg.
Mark Sczesniok, Stoke City fan and waste water manager in Staffordshire, said: “It’s been a real problem for us in recent weeks as we’ve seen a massive increase in FOG coming into the works which causes us all sorts of problems.
“We’ve been out and about with the FOG fighters at ECAS talking to local businesses who’ve been fantastic in fitting industrial scale fat traps into their systems which has really helped.
“But we’d urge everyone to think about what they’re chucking down the kitchen sink and flushing down the toilet because it can cause problems not only for us but also for you and your neighbours.
“Pouring your cooking fat down the sink might seem like the easy thing to do but, once in the sewers, it congeals into solid lumps which can then combine with things like wet wipes which don’t break down, which is when you get fatbergs that can block sewers and cause them to flood. And no-one wants that.”
While the amount of FOG coming into the works has reduced, FOG remains a problems and every Severn Trent customer, whether a business or a home, needs to make sure they think about what they’re putting down the sink or flushing down the toilet.
We clear over 45,000 sewer blockages every year and around 70% of them are caused by putting the wrong items down the sink or toilet. It costs us over £10 million every year to regularly clean over 700 kilometres of sewers.