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News Centre > Monday 03 October 2022

Guernsey Water encourages Islanders to consider the health of drainage network

Rag

Guernsey Water is encouraging Islanders and businesses to play their part in improving the health of Guernsey's water drainage network, asking people to only put the three Ps - poo, pee, and paper - into the drainage network. Unblocktober, which launched in the UK in 2019 and runs throughout October, was created to raise awareness of the items, materials and substances that are put into drainage systems and sewers and cause damage to the systems and the environment.

"Unblocktober complements the guidance that Guernsey Water issues throughout the year, highlighting the best ways to get rid of items such as wet wipes, cooking oils and grease. Keeping our drainage network clear is a priority all year round, but we hope that the campaign will remind Islanders to consider the items that they put into the water network," said Jon Holt, Guernsey Water's Operations Manager. 

Those participating in Unblocktober are asked to commit to only pouring water into their drains and not flushing any items other than pee, poo or paper.

The campaign focuses on:

• Cooking oil or fat

• Food, including crumbs or cooking sauces

• Anything containing plastic or hidden plastics, including wet wipes, sanitary products, nappies, contact lenses, dental floss, condoms or cotton buds.

Mr Holt continued: "We deal with approximately 57 pump blockages a year at our pumping stations and proactively clean over 35km of sewer annually to avoid pipe blockages, so creating more awareness of what we put down our drains will help maintain a clean and safe drainage network as well as having a positive knock-on effect for our environment."

The utility advised that approximately 1.6 tonnes of non-biodegradable material is removed from Belle Greve Wastewater Centre every week at a cost of £615.00 per tonne. 

To sign up for the campaign please visit www.unblocktober.org and download the resource pack. For more information on wastewater please visit water.gg.

 

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