There Is Another Fatberg In London And It Looks Utterly Revolting

This one is in Whitehall. [Insert joke about Westminster stinking here.]

By
Richard James
by Richard James

BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

Another huge collection of congealed fat and litter, known as a “fatberg”, has been found under Whitehall in central London.

Thames Water

Thames Water recently took ITV on a visit to see the sewer on the junction of Whitehall Palace and Whitehall Court.

As well as wet wipes, which don’t break down in sewers, nail varnish pots, condoms, and sanitary products were all found blocking the pipe.

Thames Water

Thames Water said Regent Street pipes feed into the Whitehall trunk sewer, which is around two metres high and one metre wide, carrying fat from restaurants and fast food outlets.

The water company says it now spends £1 million a month clearing fatbergs and blockages in the capital.

Thames Water

Dave Dennis, Thames Water sewer manager for west London, said:

We find objects down the sewers every day that should not be there. Planks of wood, plastic bottles, and the bane of our lives – wet wipes.

They may say flushable on the packet but they don't break down inside the sewer. They cling to cooled cooking fat and form fatbergs, which block pipes and flood our customers with sewage.

Sewer flooding is a horrific experience, so please remember next time you go to throw cooking oil down the drain or wet wipes down the loo -bin it, don't block it.

According to Thames Water, Harrow is one of the worst places in London for sewer blockages.

In last five years the borough has had 13,417 blockages and 883 homes flooded with sewage.

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