Guernsey Press

Campaign to keep wastewater flowing

GUERNSEY WATER has launched a year-long campaign advising on the correct disposal of wet wipes, cooking oils and grease.

Published
Guernsey Water's general manager Steve Langlois at the launch of the company's new year-long wastewater campaign with, back left, water quality sampler Andy Le Galloudec and, right, assistant water quality scientist Leon Massey. Photo by Liquid PR. (28389737)

It is the first initiative of this kind and will see the local utility deliver an educational message which shows the problems that the build-up of wipes, oils and grease can cause in the wastewater network.

Guernsey Water deals with about 140 blockages a year at its pumping stations and proactively cleans over 35km of sewer annually to avoid pipe blockages.

General manager Steve Langlois said putting fat, oil and grease down the sink and flushing wet wipes down the toilet means they create build-ups in the wastewater network which can increase the risk of flooding and associated pollution.

‘As a case in point, we conducted a customer survey last month on islanders’ flushing habits.

‘One key statistic from the research indicated that 15% of customers are disposing of waste cooking oil down their sink monthly, with 11% admitting this takes place at least once each month.’

Entitled ‘Let’s be clear’, the year-long campaign is aimed at the public, schools, care homes and hospitality sectors and a survey will benchmark attitudes and understanding around the issues.

Guernsey Water has developed characters based around wet wipes and ‘fatbergs’ and is working with the States, hotel and hospitality groups and businesses to generate awareness of the issue.

Mr Langlois added: ‘The wastewater network includes the pipes and pumps which remove used water and sewage from all properties on the island.’

This includes anything that goes down drains or the toilet.

‘By keeping drains clear we can ensure a better service for everyone on the island, reducing the need for repair works, the risk of blockages and floods and ultimately providing a more efficient service with fewer disruptions.’