Blockages caused by wet wipes have dropped by 61 per cent following a trial campaign by Northumbrian Water.
The company launched Bin the Wipe in January this year in areas of the north east that frequently had blockages caused by wipes, it will now expand the trial to 40 key locations .
The company reported the headline decrease in the pilot area of Stockton but in other parts of the region blockages from wipes were up 20 per cent for the first quarter of 2020 compared to the four-year average.
A twin-track approach was used in Stockton to inform households about the consequences of flushing wipes and a tracing tool was used to identify where wipes were being flushed and those consumers were given information to encourage a behavioural change. The tool, called the Barbarian, was designed by one of the sewerage operatives to pinpoint where wipes are entering the sewer system.
In extreme cases, Northumbrian said repeat offenders could be prosecuted under the Water Industry Act 1991 if direct education about the problems of wipes is ineffective.
The campaign began with a direct mail to all customers in the pilot area informing them of the consequences of flushing wipes with some graphic imagery.
As and when individual or smaller groups of properties were identified to be flushing wipes, these were contacted to say people in the area were still flushing wipes and could face penalties. Sewerage maintenance teams also provided educational chats to help households understand.
Simon Cyhanko, Northumbrian’s head of wastewater networks, said the situation is getting worse but the trial in Stockton has shown “a massive positive impact”. He said: “We have a brand-new set of tactics that we believe can make a massive difference, with the potential to reduce the likelihood of our customers and the environment being negatively affected by blockages.
“If customers continue to flush wet wipes despite education, communications and face-to-face discussion then we will be looking to recharge our costs and, in the worst cases, prosecute. We have to take this position to protect our customers and the environment.”
Following the trial, the campaign will be extended to 40 locations across the north east with the creation of a new team of sewage maintenance operatives to trace where wipes are flushed from and to help customers understand why they should not use the toilet as a bin.
Wet wipes contributed to around 64 per cent of the 15,600 sewer blockages cleared in the region last year.