One piece of wood in the wrong place in Margate, Kent recently created two weeks of work, including CCTV investigation to locate it, specialist kit to remove it and a fleet of tankers to maintain wastewater services for properties in the area.
And one unfortunate household experienced a sewage flood inside their home - all of which could easily have been easily avoided.
After a blockage became apparent, MTS tankers supported us to control the flows within the sewers so that households could continue to use their kitchen and bathroom facilities as normal. MTS CCTV crews also worked to help Southern Water locate the cause of the problems.
The offending piece of wood had been put down a gully by someone, become wedged in a very awkward position and caused a 100% blockage of the pipe as other debris (wet wipes, sanitary items, fat, oil and grease) built up around it.
The critical blockage was located on National Rail land under a manhole concealed by vegetation. Gaining the correct permits to access the land took a few days and fortunately there was no need to close train movements while we worked in the area.
Steve Gilson, MTS Managing Director, said; “We were eventually able to clear the line and restore the sewers to perfect working order. Foreign objects should never go into drains or sewers as this case shows – it can have far-reaching effects on the environment, homes and businesses.”
Please remember: The sewers are only designed to take wastewater and are not as large in diameter as people imagine. This blockage unfortunately caused internal flooding of sewage to a property and could have easily affected more homes. This is a reminder of the importance to only put the three Ps down toilets and drains – pee, poo and paper.
Be a considerate neighbour. If you put anything into the sewer you shouldn’t you are not only risking your own property but other peoples’ too.