News

We've found Gloucester sewers are blocked full of wipes.  We were called out to a sewer flooding incident in the GL1, Victoria Street area, and when our team did their investigation, they pulled out huge quantities of wipes and other unflushables from the sewers.

Area waste manager, Matt Jeynes, says: “We know just how worrying it is for everyone at the moment and we want to reassure our customers that we’re working really hard to keep our essential services running.  And one of those essential services is unblocking clogged up sewer pipes. 

“Having sewage flooding inside your home due to sewers being blocked like this one in Victoria Street is one of the most horrible things that can happen to you.  We really don’t want our customers to suffer in this way, especially right now.  We know that some people are having to resort to using a whole manner of things to substitute for toilet roll at the moment, but a sewer blockage is the last thing that anyone needs right now. The drains that take waste water away from your home are only a few inches wide and it doesn’t take much for them to get clogged up with kitchen roll, wipes and fat.”

In the last year we've been called out to thousands of blockages in the Gloucestershire area, of which three quarters were caused by people flushing the wrong things into the sewer system.  And with the lack of toilet roll in the current climate, the amount of blockages appears to be increasing.

Matt added: “Mostly, when we ask people why they flush wipes, it’s simply because they don’t know that they shouldn’t.  So we’re asking for help from the people of Gloucestershire to help reduce the number of sewer blockages in their area, and potentially save themselves a horrible situation like this one.  It’s really easy to do the right thing - make sure all wipes, kitchen roll, cotton buds and other sanitary products go straight into the bin, not down the toilet.  That’s going to help everyone and hopefully avoid any more horrible messes.”