Bus-sized Fatberg Removed From London Sewers

Posted on August 5, 2013

Thames Water Utilities reports in a press release that they recently removed a 15 ton fatberg from a London sewer. The fatberg was the size of a bus. The fatberg was a combination of lard and wet wipes. Workers say raw sewage could soon have started erupting out of manholes if the enormous fatberg had not been removed. They also say the fatberg damaged the sewer. The fatberg could be the largest in British history. A photo of the fatberg is pictured above.

Gordon Hailwood, waste contracts supervisor for Thames Water, said in a statement, "While we've removed greater volumes of fat from under central London in the past, we've never seen a single, congealed lump of lard this big clogging our sewers before. Given we've got the biggest sewers and this is the biggest fatberg we've encountered, we reckon it has to be the biggest such berg in British history. The sewer was almost completely clogged with over 15 tonnes of fat. If we hadn't discovered it in time, raw sewage could have started spurting out of manholes across the whole of Kingston."

Heated meat and vegetable fat is in liquid form when homeowners pour it down the drain after cooking, but it turns back into a solid in sewers. This fat can stick to wet wipes which grow to form monstrous clumps (fatbergs) that block sewers. Homeowners are advised not to pour fat down the sink or to flush wet wipes down the toilet. NBC News reports that flushed wet wipes are causing problems in the U.S. as well.

HEALTH