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Guernsey Water is encouraging islanders not to flush wet wipes down the toilet.
Wet wipes create a tremendous number of blockages in sewer systems all over the UK and Guernsey is no exception, explains Jon Holt, operations manager of Guernsey Water.
A recent Great British Beach Clean report by The Marine Conservation Society cites how damaging a build-up of wet wipes can be on sewer systems.
Mr Holt said: “One of the biggest problems Guernsey Water faces, as frequently as twice a week, is untangling wet wipes from machinery in the sewer’s pumping stations. Although some brands of wet wipes are marked as flushable, this is not strictly true as they can contain plastic and don’t disintegrate in the same way as toilet paper.
“A build-up of wet wipes will form a strong, thick rope which gets tightly twisted around our pumps and causes them to shut down automatically. The only way to free them is to cut through the knotted wet wipes by hand. This is not only a very unpleasant job for our staff but also time-consuming and can have a serious impact on the flow of sewage in the system, increasing the risk of foul flooding and pollution.”
The flooding caused by these blockages can also have a detrimental impact on the environment and ecosystems.
“We understand that many islanders might assume that wet wipes are biodegradable and don’t intend to cause any problems by disposing of them in this way. Hopefully the recent media coverage on the Marine Conservation Society’s report will help raise more awareness of this problem and ultimately lead to a decline,” said Mr Holt.
