SA Water has released new figures from South Australia’s flushing and rinsing habits, reporting a 30 per cent drop in sewer blockages caused by the ‘unflushable’s.
The figures show that un-flushable objects such as wet wipes, cooking fats oils and even superhero costumes were responsible for 1,746 blockages over six months from October 2021, compared to only 1,268 over the same period from October 2022.
SA Water said the sharp decline has resulted in a more than $230,000 reduction in SA Water’s expenses related to clearing and disposing of blockages between the periods, along with less impact on the environment from overflows.
Senior Manager of Infrastructure Planning and Strategy at SA Water, Daniel Hoefel, said the utility is thrilled at how the community has embraced changes to their behaviour at the sink and toilet.
“South Australians should be commended for the role they’re playing to help keep our sewers healthy, and I’d like to thank people for their ongoing support in flushing out the untouchables,” Mr Hoefel said.
“During the months leading up to October last year, we invested in community education to help share fun and engaging content with our customers to spark conversations about their habits,” he said.
Additionally, Mr Hoefel said that the messaging around un-flushable objects had been trickling through the community and continues to move in the right direction.
“Importantly, the numbers still aren’t zero, so we know there’s more conversations to be had and work to do,” he said.
“Our sewers exist to protect the environment and public health, and if we look after them, they’ll look after us,” the Senior Manager said.
