By JESSE GRAHAM
YARRA VALLEY Water has blamed a Healesville sewage spill, which narrowly avoided a nearby river over the weekend, on wet wipes clogging the system, and called on residents to be careful when they flush.
In a release sent out on Tuesday, 22 September, YV Water’s Managing Director Pat McCafferty said that a sewage spill took place at the corner of Don Road and Mt Riddell Road in Healesville on Friday 18 September.
Mr McCafferty said a quick response from the organisation “narrowly” stopped spilling sewage from reaching the Watts River.
“We responded quickly and started the clean-up as soon as it was safe to do so and we expect the water quality in the local wetlands to return to normal shortly,” he said.
He blamed the spill on wet wipes, fats and oils flushed or washed down sinks building up and getting caught on tree roots in the sewer, and said the objects “do not belong there”.
“We need the community to help stop this problem, as things such as wet wipes can cause blockages in our sewers,” Mr McCafferty said.
“As you can imagine fats and oils also block the pipes and only add to the problem we are seeing with wet wipes by clumping them together, causing even more blockages.”
The Mail reported in March that Yarra Valley water had been dealing with the headache of so-called “flushable” wipes for years, with four tonnes of the wipes removed from the sewerage system every fortnight on average.
Though the wipes are marked as “flushable”, Mr McCafferty said they don’t degrade like toilet paper, and can easily cause blockages and spills in the sewer network.
Cleaning those blockages up can cost up to $1000 each time, and the material can result in spills, such as the one that occurred in Healesville.
“Our sewers were not designed for wet wipes,” Mr McCafferty said.
For more information about what should and should not go down the toilet and sink, visit Yarra Valley Water’s website.
