Icon Water has issued a warning to householders to take care flushing materials into the sewerage system following a court judgement relating to so-called flushable wipes.
According to Acting General Manager of Infrastructure Services at Icon Water, Gerard Brierley the wipes are unsuitable for Canberra’s system.
“The vast majority of cleaning wipes do not break down quickly enough to be suitable for flushing,” Mr Brierley said.
“The only things that should be flushed down your loo are the three Ps — pee, poo and toilet paper.”
He said the sewerage system was a highly effective essential service, treating sewage from more than 400,000 Canberrans to such a high standard that it could be returned to the Murray-Darling Basin river system via Australia’s largest inland sewage treatment facility.
He said there were more than 3,300 kilometres of sewerage pipes in Canberra, as well as pumps and other assets.
“If the wrong things, like wet wipes, go down the sewer we can see blockages and even overflows that can really affect residents,” Mr Brierley said.
“Wipes can clog the pipes in your home — and can be expensive and embarrassing to have fixed — but if they block Canberra’s sewerage system it is a cost that we all bear.”
He noted that there was currently no clear Australian Standard on flushability.
“Icon Water commends the work of the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA), which is leading manufacturers, water utilities, peak bodies and consumer groups in the development of an Australian Standard defining flushability,” Mr Brierley said.
“WSAA estimates that blockages caused mainly by wet wipes are costing the urban water industry millions of dollars each year, not to mention the impact on the environment from wipes being found in rivers and on beaches,” he said.
