Drainage rods cause sewer blockage in Ripon

Yorkshire Water reveals three drainage rods caused a blockage in a Ripon sewer.

The drainage rods had blocked a small diameter sewer where it entered a larger 525mm sewer, preventing sewage from flowing away from properties. They were discovered and removed from the network by Yorkshire Water’s customer field services team.

Miles Cameron, regional operations manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Our teams deal with blockages caused by a variety of foreign objects every day. It is unclear how these drainage rods were lost into the network, but often they can be traced back to customers or tradespeople.

“In this instance they caused a full blockage of a small diameter sewer, leading to customers being unable to use their toilets. Ultimately, this could have caused sewage to escape the network into properties and gardens, the local environment or nearby watercourses

“We spend millions of pounds every year finding and removing blockages caused by foreign objects that should never be in the sewer. It is important people consider the impact these items can have and it is vital people contact us as soon as possible if they lose drainage rods into the network when trying to resolve drainage issues themselves.

“All we want people to put into the network is the three Ps – pee, poo and toilet paper – as all other items don’t break down and will ultimately lead to blockages in the sewer or at our wastewater treatment works.”