Barwon Water fatberg removal set to affect parts of Bellerine St Geelong

Access to a main road in central Geelong will be affected for the second time this year as Barwon Water crews tackle another fatberg lodged 30m underground.

Remnants of the blockage in a Bellerine St sewer after sustained jetting by Barwon Water crews in April.

A busy Geelong road will be affected again next week after another “fatberg” formed in central Geelong’s sewers.

Traffic conditions will be affected in multiple locations on Bellerine St over three days as Barwon Water works to remove the mass.

The daytime works, to take place between Tuesday and Thursday next week, will also impact a site in Maud St.

Fatbergs are congealed messy masses of non-flushable material which form in sewer systems, leading to blockages.

Barwon Water general manager of smart and sustainable Infrastructure David Snadden encouraged locals to not rush to flush.

“Things like wet wipes, tissues, sanitary items, paper towel and rubbish can form together,

causing blockages that can lead to sewage spills,” Mr Snadden said.

Crews use jetting to clear a Bellerine St blockage in the sewer deep underground in April.

“These blockages and spills can affect our natural and built environments, while being expensive and time consuming to fix.”

Access will be maintained for local residents and emergency services throughout the response effort, and there will be no interruptions to water and sewerage services, but car parks will be closed in and near the work zone.

It’s not the first time Barwon Water has had to remove a fatberg from the area.

In April, the organisation spent a fortnight removing a 10m fatberg from the sewer, which is located about 30m underground.

Barwon Water has been monitoring the sewer since.

Newtown fatberg. A blockage that caused a sewage spill in August. Picture: Barwon Water

This blockage has been described as minor, and won’t take as long to remove compared to the complex April incident.

Reactive sewer blockages, like this one, cost Barwon Water about $600,000 every year, largely due to non-flushable products.

Barwon Water is embracing educating the public about the fatberg, with an artistic, interactive version set to star in their Geelong Design Week exhibition.

The 6.8m-long interactive fatberg, created by Norlane’s The Indirect Object, will be the centrepiece of a new family-friendly pop-up activity zone at Barwon Water’s central Geelong headquarters.

Dubbed the Pooseum of Modern (f)Art, the dynamic and interactive space will open on November 21.

Originally published as Barwon Water fatberg removal set to affect parts of Bellerine St Geelong