Home   News   Article

Scottish Water teams deal with more than 1300 sewer blockages in two weeks as Highland residents urged to bin toilet un-flushables


By Ian Duncan

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!
Scottish Water has issued advice to prevent sewer blockages.
Scottish Water has issued advice to prevent sewer blockages.

New figures show Scottish Water teams were called out to deal with more than 1300 sewer blockages in just two weeks.

The utility company is urging people in the Highlands and elsewhere to bin non-biodegradable alternatives to toilet paper rather than flush them away.

Between Monday, March 16, and today Scottish Water cleared a total of 1343 blocked sewer pipes across the country.

Preventable problems like blockages caused by flushing items which are not biodegradable in the same way that toilet paper is, places added pressure on resources.

Customers are being asked to help protect the waste water network by sticking to the simple 3Ps guidance by flushing only pee, poo and toilet paper.

Garry Kirkwood, Scottish Water’s sewer response manager, said: “Products like wipes, kitchen roll, blue roll and others are not designed to break up in the sewer system and risk causing internal flooding to homes, additional health risks and environmental pollution.

“Some of these items simply won’t make it beyond customers’ toilet pipes. Wipes however are a major cause of the blocks we see in the sewer network.

“This can be an extremely distressing experience for people and cause significant damage to property. We are calling for the support of our customers to do the right thing and not contribute to avoidable sewer chokes.”

Scottish Water responds to around 3000 sewer chokes every month and it treats about one billion litres of waste water every day in Scotland.

The waste water drain which goes from a house to the public sewer is usually only about four inches wide – around the diameter of a DVD – and can easily become blocked by a build-up of un-flushable materials.

Scottish Water choke squads will currently have minimal direct contact with affected customers in accordance with official social distancing guidance.

To read more news.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More