This month, Severn Trent Water engineers were called out to Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire for an incident of a severely backed up drain that was causing flooding to the surrounding area, only to find that at the root of the problem was in fact, tennis balls!
The usual suspect for blocked drains tends to be generic bathroom cosmetics that get flushed down toilets such as; baby wipes, nappies, face wipes and hair, but certainly not tennis balls.
But in this case, we aren’t just talking a few tennis balls, we’re talking hundreds of tennis balls that had been flushed into the sewers for whatever bizarre reason. But this is just one example of drainage contractors being called out to sites throughout Leicestershire.
Three quarters of sewer call-outs caused by “misuse”
It is estimated that three quarters of call-outs are caused from people misusing sewer systems and this number is on the rise. Between November 2014 and March 2014, the amount of incidents where Leicestershire sewers have been blocked has increased by a whopping 97%! The cost of clearing drainage systems from household toiletry items alone is over £10 million every year, so it goes without saying that having to remove tennis balls is simply wasting time, resources and money for local authorities.
However, there is not the option to just ignore the situation as we would be left in a rather horrible mess if we incurred sewage flooding in our homes and gardens. With drain pipes only a few inches wide, they are designed to carry water, human waste and toilet paper only.
“Out of sight, out of mind”
So, although it is easy to simply flush something down the toilet with the ethos of “out of sight, out of mind”, this simply is not good enough. We need to take more responsibility for our drainage systems as they will, no doubt, raise their ugly head and make an appearance somewhere, causing us to face a far messier situation than if we dispose of our waste sensibly!
So, if you should ever require professional drainage services from reliable contractors, then please get in touch with the team here at Wildon UK. Whether it’s a blockage due to a foreign object (like tennis balls!) or perhaps you’ve experienced flash flooding and the heavy downpours have resulted in backed-up drains, we can be there to offer a 24 hour, 7 days a week service so you can get back to normal as soon as possible!
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