Toilet paper shortage creates havoc has flushed items block local sewerage systems
Toilet paper may be back on the shelves, but the early COVID-19 shortage is still having an impact on local sewerage networks – and it is costing ratepayers.
Adelaide Hills
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A lack of toilet paper during the COVID-19 crisis has caused havoc for sewerage networks in the Adelaide Hills, as desperate residents resorted to using paper towels, nappy wipes and even clothes.
Water utilities have long been frustrated by people using alternatives to toilet paper, which is clogging up septic and sewerage systems.
But after the early COVID-19 statewide toilet paper shortage, systems are now at breaking point.
Council crews are increasingly finding a range of materials blocking the pipes.
Mount Barker District Council group manager for infrastructure Phil Burton said staff attended to around 40 call-outs per year – costing ratepayers $40,000.
He said that figure was on the rise as more Hills residents connected to the waste water scheme.
Flushing products other than toilet paper was “causing blockages and an additional expense for our community,” Mr Burton said.
“Call-outs certainly happen enough times throughout the year and can happen any time of the day … including the middle of the night, so we have people on call to deal with these types of matters,” he said.
Mr Burton urged residents to consider whether an item was biodegradable before flushing the toilet.
“Obviously we can’t change what companies are producing in terms of products, but if we can change the behaviour of our customers then that’s a good outcome,” he said.
“(These items) cause long-term damage and block the flow … to the point that the (sewage) raises to the surface, out of the pipes and into the environment and into backyards and creeks – and no one wants that.”