Goulburn Valley Water (GVW) regularly promotes its ‘Three Ps: Don’t Flush It’ messaging – a campaign designed to educate customers about what should and should not be disposed of in the toilet or sink.
Within the last 12 months, there have been 391 blockages across the region, with GVW Water and Sewer staff required to remove things such as wet wipes, tissues, paper towels, and even phones, a snake, and a pedestal fan at one point.
GVW Managing Director Dr Steve Capewell said the company needed customers’ help in maintaining a healthy sewer network.
“We need customers’ help to keep our sewers healthy and limit the number of blockages and overflows,” he said.
Dr Capewell said the sewer system was designed to transport sewage from toilets and drains to a Wastewater Management Facility, and foreign objects created issues with this process.
Items that should be disposed of in a bin rather than flushed down the toilet include tissues, flushable wipes, paper towel, nappies, tampons, sanitary pads, medication, clothing, rubbish, toys, kitty litter, cotton wool balls, cotton buds, and other related items.
Kitchen waste should be scraped into the bin or compost, with remaining fats and oils mopped up with paper towel or tissues, and disposed of in the same way.
Items such as fats, oil, grease, food scraps, coffee grounds, tea leaves, medication, paint, thinners, chemicals, motor oil, petrol, pesticides, and herbicides should not be disposed of in drains.
If you are experiencing water not draining away in your sinks and the toilet as it normally would, there may be a blockage in the sewerage system, and residents are urged to contact a plumber or GVW 1800 454 500 to rectify the issue.
