IT IS the stuff of horror films - a "fatberg". A monstrous,
15-tonne sludge, lard and baby-wipe behemoth that strangled a corridor
of London's sewerage system.
The school bus-sized toxic blob shocked the world earlier this week
but beware: they lurk in our drains too. And they're not alone.
Plumbers say fatbergs are one of just a number of surprises that lurk
underneath Australian cities.
"Nothing surprises you. You see so
much different stuff," plumber of 30 years Richard Langham said, adding
that it seemed to be human nature for people to try and shove whatever
they could down the drains.
Mr Langham has seen kittens and "all
different" kinds of animals trapped in Sydney's sewerage system. Under
pubs, he has found wallets, purses, glasses, bottles and, you can safely
assume, plenty of mobile phones from text-happy folks hopped up on
booze.
If it fits down there, it's probably going to end up down there.
Jewellery, including wedding rings and earrings, is a regular find, says
Sydney Water network manager Gary Hurley.
It's unclear how other
items end up in the sewers, though. Workers have come across giant
pieces of timber and building debris that would take "a lot of effort"
to get down the drain, Mr Hurley said.
How Australia's "fatbergs" develop is more straightforward.
Melbourne's
Brendan "The Drain Man" Dover said fat blockages were a regular
occurrence, and he had seen fatbergs the size of four footballs in
pipes. Australian fatbergs are typically triggered by fast food
restaurants with faulty grease traps.
Water authorities say there
are several safeguards in place to stop fatbergs of a London scale from
happening here. Organisations such as Sydney Water keep tabs on how
regularly restaurants empty their grease traps.
But generally there is the golden rule: Don't flush it if it shouldn't go down there.
That
includes sanitary pads, condoms, and baby wipes, the most common source
of problems, as well as dangerous chemicals such as petrol and paint
that sewerage workers tend to encounter.
Ultimately, plumbers say
too many Australians believe that when they flush something it vanishes
forever. "They think it's gone," Mr Langham said. "If they can flush,
they'll put it through."
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