120 metres of Welshpool sewer completely blocked by fat
When Severn Trent descended on Welshpool recently, its aim was to find and fix sewer blockages - but it did not expect to find a sewer on Berriew Road completely blocked by fat for 120 metres.
Jacqueline Whitehead, customer and community lead, said there are certain areas in the region where sewer blockage numbers are much higher than anywhere else.
Welshpool is one of those places, particularly the Oldford Rise, Oldford Close and Berriew Road areas.
She said: "Since 2011 we've had 143 blockages in these three areas, with 110 of these being caused by the wrong things being flushed down the toilet and getting stuck. We spend a lot of time and effort unblocking sewers, so we decided to go and visit the area to see if we could understand both why this was happening and what we can do to prevent it.
"We certainly didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. Our investigation showed that one sewer in particular, on Berriew Road, had been entirely blocked by a build up of fat, which had set solid when it hit the cold walls of the sewer. And when we tried to clear the blockage, we found that the entire sewer was blocked, for 120 metres."
It took our teams five hours of constant work to clear it out and get it flowing properly again.
"If we hadn't discovered it when we did, it would have eventually led to sewage backing up in the system and coming out where it could into people's homes and gardens. As it was, the manholes were already overflowing."
Jacqueline added: "Many customers may not realise that they are responsible for the waste pipe running away from their home up until it either crosses the property boundary or meets with another waste pipe or sewer. Unblocking or repairing this section of pipe can be costly, but avoidable, if you're careful about what you put down your toilet or your sink. So please use the bin in the kitchen rather than washing fats and oils down the sink."
If you do run into problems, either slow drains or a blocked sewer which is Severn Trent's responsibility you can report it by calling them on 0800 783 4444.
