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20 | 20TH - 26TH NOVEMBER 2015 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Analysis Y orkshire Water technicians say they have unblocked sewers 50,888 times so far this year. And nearly one-third of these were avoidable, caused by suppos- edly "flushable" wet wipes being disposed of down the toilet. Yorkshire Water is not alone, with wet wipes in particular becoming a major prob- lem for every sewerage company. Across the pond, lawsuits have been launched against the companies that adver- tise their products as flushable. The city of Wyoming in April sued six wet-wipe manu- facturers, arguing that their products, mar- keted as flushable, were clogging plumbing systems and costing the city huge amounts of money. Other councils are beginning to take action too. New York city council, for instance, is working on a bill that would require companies to clearly label their products. In the UK, where wet wipes continue to cause problems for sewer companies, perhaps there is an argument for a similar course of action. The Advertising Standards Agency tells Utility Week it has not received any com- plaints about the issue. "If anyone has any concerns that disposable wipes or baby wipes are being advertised in a potentially misleading or irresponsible way, we would encourage them to lodge a complaint with us," it says. "We would then be able to assess the complaints, look at the ad in question and establish whether there was a problem under the rules." Tentative steps have been made. Wessex Water tells Utility Week it has written both to supermarkets and manufacturers of wet wipes raising its concern. What is more, the water industry has lobbied for clearer word- ing on the packaging of wipes, but so far the response has been "disappointing". Wessex Water also says that sewerage companies have met with the EDANA, the trade group representing non-woven fabric manufacturers, which has devised a flush- ability protocol that its members' products must pass before they can call them "flush- able". However, some sewerage companies argue that the flushability protocol is not strict enough, and they are working with the EDANA to improve the rate at which these types of wipes break down. For the companies forced to spend mil- lions of pounds every year unblocking the sewers, there is strong incentive to find a solution. "Wet wipes are one of the biggest causes of blockages in sewers and at wastewater treatment works," says Southern Water. "Even wipes described as flushable cause blockages and the biodegradable ones oen don't spend long enough in the sewer to start to decompose." "Flushable wipes might flush away with- out much trouble," says Northern Ireland Water, "but they cause real trouble in the sewers because they don't dissolve or break down, as toilet paper would. It only takes a few wipes to cause a blockage in your sew- ers, with all the costly – and unhygienic – consequences that can bring." UK sewerage companies have launched campaigns to encourage the public not to flush products such as wet wipes down the toilet, and they have met with some suc- cess in certain areas. But sewer blockages caused by flushable wipes continue to be a problem – congealing with leover cooking fat into solid fatbergs, which block pipes and can cause sewage to back up into people's houses and gardens. Yorkshire Water technical manager James Harrison says there has been a "significant increase" in the number of blockages related to wet wipes, in particular, in its area. "We understand information from manufacturers can be quite confusing, as some products say 'flushable' on the packaging," he says. "We would urge people to flush only 'the 3Ps' – poo, pee and paper – down the toilet." "Our message is clear," says Wessex, "no wipes down the toilet regardless of whether they claim to be flushable or not". But so far, the message does not appear to be getting through to everyone, with sewer- age companies and, ultimately, consumers having to fork out more than £80 million every year to clear blockages. Wet wipes woes Products marketed as 'flushable' are proving anything but, and water companies are paying the price. Lois Vallely reports. Money down the drain United Utilities Number of blockages (per year): 53,000 Cost to clear: £20 million Campaign: What Not To Flush Thames Water Number of blockages (per year): 55,000 Cost to clear: £12 million Campaign: Bin it – don't block it Severn Trent Water Number of blockages (per year): 20,000 Cost to clear: £10 million Campaign: Bag it and Bin it Yorkshire Water Number of blockages (per year): 35,000 Cost to clear: £8 million Campaign: Stop it, don't block it Welsh Water Number of blockages (per year): 2,000 Cost to clear: £7 million Campaign: Stop the Block Anglian Water Number of blockages (per year): 30,000 Cost to clear: £7 million Campaign: Keep it Clear Scottish Water Number of blockages (per year): 35,000 Cost to clear: £6 million Campaign: Keep the cycle running Wessex Water Number of blockages (per year): 13,000 Cost to clear: £5 million Campaign: Be Smart Love Your Loo South West Water Number of blockages (per year): 8,500 Cost to clear: £4.5 million Campaign: Love Your Loo Northern Ireland Water Number of blockages (per year): 4,400 Cost to clear: £2.5 million Campaign: Dirty Dozen Southern Water Number of blockages (per year): 7,000 Cost to clear: £1.8 million Campaign: Bag it and Bin it Northumbrian Water Number of blockages (per year): 3,000 Cost to clear: £1 million Campaign: Dwaine Pipe and Love your Drain