Sewer engineers clear 14km of fatbergs

ENGINEERS have cleared almost 14km (8.6 miles) of sewers in Wokingham over the last year, in a record cleaning programme by Thames Water.

To reduce the flood risk, engineers worked through underground pipes using cameras to help with stubborn blockages.

It was part of a record cleaning programme across the Thames Valley and London, which saw 1,500km of sewers inspected and cleared of fatbergs.

Working with partners including Lanes Group, McAllister Group and OnSite, the utilities company worked through a recordbreaking 190km in February.

It has now set a target of 2,300km next year — the equivalent of a sewer stretching from London to

Athens — with almost 20km of sewers in Wokingham due to be cleared by the end of the year.

“Despite not being the most glamorous job, battling fatbergs and other blockages in our sewers is absolutely vital in ensuring we’re able to safely take away the waste of our millions of customers,” said Matt Rimmer, Thames Water’s head of waste networks.

“Once again we’ve carried out a record amount of cleaning this year but we aren’t stopping there and have ambitious plans to go even further to keep our sewers flowing as smoothly as possible to help protect our customers and the environment.

“Sewers can be unpleasant places and some of the things we find in our pipes highlight just how important it is to ensure nothing gets in there that shouldn’t.

“We urge all our customers to only flush the three Ps – pee, poo and toilet paper – as well as binning fats and oils rather than pouring them down the sink.”

Sewers are cleared using high-powered water jets to blast away blockages, and vacuums to suck them out.

Sometimes, engineers use hand tools to break down the biggest blockages and now attach remote cameras to small floating barges, to help spot fatbergs or pipe defects.

The water company said where sewers are cleaned, internal flooding and pollution halves.

Next year, engineers aim to clean 192km (119 miles) of sewers every month — equivalent to the distance from London to Newport, Wales.

Kirsty James, planned maintenance delivery manager for Lanes said: “This is an integrated team effort that’s delivering fantastic results for customers.”