Previously on our blog we’ve looked at just how much of an issue fat can be for drains, and the danger – yes, danger – posed by delicious English fry-ups. But we couldn’t help but feel sorry for residents of Witney, in Oxfordshire, after their high street was flooded with sewage last Thursday.
It all started around 9am, precisely as shops begin opening and shoppers flock to spend their hard-earned moolah. That was when waste began spewing out from beneath a drain cover outside of the Co-Op store and the local opticians, Scrivens. They weren’t the only shops affected though, with others also having to deal with the eruption of waste that spread. And until the cavalry arrived, shops had to use brooms to sweep away up to a centimetre of waste from their premises. Outside of the Methodist Church, the highways agency erected a battalion of sandbags to stem the tide of flow.
Manager of Scrivens, Jennifer Blackie, said: ‘When we left work on Tuesday, we could see some water around the drain, but it was clear, so we didn’t think anything of it. But this morning, it was all over the pavement and it was brown and full of loo roll and everything else. Customers had to walk in it to get into my shop.’
Ms. Blackie reckons that the drain in question bursts at least once a year, for the past seven years. That, she claims, is simply ‘not acceptable.’
And what’s the blame for the barrage of sewage that affected Witney? Our old arch-nemesis, fat, of course. According to Thames Water, who were sent to sort the issue out, one of the tributary drains, which feeds into the main drain under the high street, had become blocked. Thames Water explained: ‘A fat blockage in our sewer pipe led to five properties suffering sewer flooding.’
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This sewer situation certainly serves to highlight just how devastating fat can be to drainage systems. But at least here at Inspect-A-Drain, we’ve got the north covered. If you’re having troubles with blocked drains in Nottingham and beyond, we’re on call to sort it out. For more information about what we do, and how we can help you, simply contact us on 0115 822 6086 or 07967 029 298 and our experienced, professional team will be delighted to assist with all of your enquiries.