Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/762480
14 | JANUARY 2017 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Industry leader high concentration of food outlets in one street, so a hands-on approach is being taken by all the water and sewerage companies under the Water UK banner. "We are now looking to proactively visit large premises, because they are the main FOG producers that aren't consented in any way," says Dyson. "There are 44,500 food premises in the Anglian Water region, including school and work canteens and supermarket rotisseries, all producing FOG. "What all the water and sewerage companies are now doing - either via a third party or doing it in-house – is to actively visit premises in FOG hotspot areas where there's been a history of blockages. it's a very friendly visit, looking at manholes near the food premises, taking note of any FOG in the sewer network, taking photographs, and then visiting the premises and giving them advice, leaflets, giving them the British Water code of practice on FOG management. Most of them are having their used cooking oil taken away, but where the problem occurs is the FOG that's entering the sewers from dishwashers, pot washing, mops that clean the floor, and so on." Where necessary, the water company visitors refer the food outlets to the grease contractors association (a new organisation affiliated to British Water) to recommend and fit any physical solution required, such as passive grease traps, dosing or mechanical grease removal units. There is no compulsion, but if an outlet ignores the advice and does not fit the recommended equipment then they could be taken to court if they are later found to have caused a sewer blockage. Severn Trent and Southern Water are two water companies who have successfully prosecuted restaurants for FOG blockages in the last year. However this should always be the last resort, and Dyson says that in many cases restaurants have every incentive to ensure they clean and dispose of their waste correctly. "We've not had this focus before, and talking to some of the chains, they are o'en paying private drainage companies to come and unblock the drains and they are sometimes just pushing the FOG further down the network and not solving the problem. If they had sought proper advice in the first place on good FOG management, they could be saving a whole lot of money. McDonalds and Whitbread are two examples of large chains who work very closely with the water industry now, because they recognise the benefit," she concludes. Slowly but surely, progress is being made in the battle to ensure that only the right things go down our drains and toilets and the sewers beneath our feet continue to flow smoothly. You can hear more from Rachel Dyson at WWT's Wastewater 2017 conference on January 31st in Birmingham. For details and booking info visit: events.wwtonline.co.uk/wastewater Examples of sewer blockages caused by wet wipes and FOG, and a fatberg (bottom)