Think Before You Flush! Sewage Works Urges

Think before you flush! is the message from a concerned sewage treatment works who were surprised to find Nemo popping out the pipes.

“We can’t stress enough how important it is to only flush toilet paper down the toilet. Anything else should go into the bin”, says Grant Mitchell from Severn Trent.

“The drains that take waste water away from homes are only a few inches wide and are only meant to take water, toilet roll and human waste. Toilet roll is designed to break down when it gets wet so it washes easily through the system. That’s not the case with things like nappies, wipes, other sanitary products and Nemo, which can get stuck in smaller drains.”

Nemo was spotted amongst a large bundle of wet wipes, nappies and cotton buds, which would usually cause blockages in the Gloucestershire sewer pipes before even reaching the sewage works.

Grant says: “It’s not necessarily the people who put the wrong things down the toilet that are affected by sewers overflowing. The blockage can happen further down the street, so what you do in your home can be causing a problem for your neighbours. We’d really encourage people to think before they flush, if not for us then for Nemo!”

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