A 10-tonne lump of congealed fat and household waste, known as a fatberg, has been removed from a sewer in Chelsea, west London. The 40-metre-long blockage was so heavy that it broke the 1940s-era sewer, causing extensive damage.
Thames Water estimates the repair will cost £400,000 and take over two months. The company has already replaced 22 metres of broken pipe, with another 17 metres still to go. The team is digging by hand due to the presence of other underground pipes.
Stephen Hunt, a repair and maintenance supervisor at Thames Water, described the fatberg's size as 'mind-boggling'. He said: 'We see blockages all the time on household sewer pipes, but to have this much damage on a sewer almost a metre in diameter is staggering.'
Fatbergs form when fat clumps together with household waste like wet wipes. London produces an estimated 32 to 44 million litres of used cooking oil annually, much of which is poured down drains. Thames Water dealt with 200,000 blockages in the last five years, flooding 18,000 homes.
The company urges residents to dispose of fat and wet wipes in the bin, not down the sink or toilet. 'Bin it – don't block it,' Hunt advised.
