‘Fatbergs’ wreak havoc on WA’s sewer network, costing $1m annually

A rising tide of foul-smelling objects is choking one state’s wastewater system, costing more than $1m each year.

A rising tide of so-called “fatbergs” is choking Western Australia’s wastewater system, costing the state more than $1m each year.

Water Corporation has revealed 1329 of the blockages – large, foul-smelling clumps of fat, oil, grease, and other non-flushable waste – have been reported in the past year alone.

The water supplier says the number of “fatbergs” – also referred to as “pipe monsters” – increased sharply from 1152 in 2022 and 918 in 2021.

Costing near $1m each year to remove, most were caused by kitchen fats, oils, and grease being poured down sinks, combined with items such as wet wipes and paper towels being flushed down toilets.

Fatbergs cost more than $1m each year to remove. Picture: Water Corporation WA

In one high-profile incident, a sold-out Bryan Adams concert at Perth’s RAC Arena was cancelled just hours before its scheduled start in February due to a fatberg blockage in the sewer line outside the venue.

Emergency crews were dispatched to clear the smelly mass of grease and rags clogging the Wellington Street system in the CBD.

Water Minister Don Punch said 850 of the reported blockages were caused by fats, oils, and grease being poured down sinks.

“Another 379 were caused by non-flushable items like wet wipes, cotton buds, sanitary products and paper towels,” he said.

Fatbergs disrupted Western Australia’s water system 1329 times in the last year. Picture: Water Corporation WA

Authorities are warning ‘fatbergs’ are preventable. Picture: Water Corporation WA

Water Corporation head of treatment and resource recovery Rino Trolio said the removal process was time-consuming, costly, and unpleasant for workers.

“The issue is non-flushable material doesn’t disintegrate properly and gets matted with fats, oils and grease mistakenly put down the sink. None of this material should be in the sewer network,” he said.

“As a reminder, only the three Ps – pee, poo and toilet paper – should go down the toilet.”

In March, crews spent two days removing WA’s largest recorded fatberg – a 30,000kg mass found during routine maintenance in Perth.

Fatbergs form when fat, oil, and grease combine with non-flushable items in the drains. Picture: Water Corporation WA

While fatbergs are a global problem for sewer networks, Water Corporation officials said new standards in Australia and New Zealand now define what can legally be labelled as “flushable”.

“Despite being labelled as such, not all products labelled as ‘flushable’ can be flushed down the loo. Most wet wipes, for example, don’t disintegrate like toilet paper,” Mr Trolio said.

“Unfortunately, wastewater blockages are a reality faced by every water utility in the world but they are entirely preventable.”

Originally published as ‘Fatbergs’ wreak havoc on WA’s sewer network, costing $1m annually