'Just the tip of the fatberg': Gigantic rag ball blocks sewerage plant

A monster rag ball, weighing the equivalent of a small car, has been removed from Urban Utilities’ Bundamba Sewage Treatment Plant which services most of Ipswich in Queensland.

The one-tonne rag ball – consisting mostly of wet wipes, paper towels and tissues – took four plant operators five hours to manually remove with shovels and pitch forks.

Urban Utilities spokesperson Michelle Cull said they were continuing to see an influx of non-flushable items in the local sewerage network during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve seen a 30 per cent increase in the volume of rag arriving at our Bundamba Plant,” she said.

“The one-tonne rag ball was the biggest one we’ve ever had at the plant, but it’s just the tip of the fatberg.

“Across our network, we’ve also seen a 35 per cent increase in blockages in sewer pipes caused by foreign objects, such as wet wipes and fat.”

Urban Utilities plant manager Mandy Murchison said in her 13 years working in wastewater treatment, she had never seen the daily volume of rag hit over a tonne.

“With so many people working from home we’ve seen a significant increase in flows coming into our smaller plants like Bundamba and with those flows has come more wet wipes,” she said.

“As a result, we’ve had to increase our inspections of the plant’s inlet works, where the rag is screened and removed.

“It’s a smelly job for our team who has to remove it, so it can be hauled off to landfill – which is where it all should have gone in the first place.”

Ms Cull said flushing the wrong thing could also cause costly blockages in private plumbing.

“The pipes that carry the wastewater away from your home are only between 10-15cm in diameter so it doesn’t take much for them to get clogged up with wet wipes, paper towels, fat and other nasties that shouldn’t be down there,” she said.

“It’s easy to do the right thing – instead of flushing these items, place them in the bin, avoiding a mess in our pipes or a big plumbing bill in yours.”

In June last year, Sydney Water released Images to show the severity of blockages caused by wipes advertised as flushable.

Consumer groups, environmentalists and water utilities say the wipes contribute to sewage blockages and terrible plumbing bills, disrupt customer services and have an impact on the environment through sewage overflows.

“Our advice is always to only flush the 3Ps – pee, poo and paper,” Ms Cull said.

Urban Utilities spends nearly half a million dollars a year disposing and transporting rubbish to landfill from its pump stations and treatment plants.

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