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ABC News
04-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Foul fatbergs on the rise in Perth's sewers as wrong waste flushed
Sewer blockages caused by mounds of grease, oils and wet wipes called fatbergs have exploded in frequency in Perth, as authorities try to stop people putting foreign objects down sinks and toilets. WA's Water Corporation says it responded to 1,329 preventable wastewater blockages in the 2023-24 financial year — a significant increase on previous years. It says most of those issues were caused by fats, oils and grease poured down kitchen sinks. But almost 400 of those blockages were caused by people flushing items like wet wipes, paper towels, cotton buds and sanitary products. Fatbergs are congealed masses of oils, grease and sanitary items that bind together in the sewer system — costing WA taxpayers at least $1 million every year to unclog. "Fatbergs are solid, foul-smelling masses that clog pipes, damage pumps and trigger wastewater spills," Water Minister Don Punch said. "It is a stark and very public reminder of what happens when we do not dispose of waste properly." Water Corp crews need to regularly carry out 'de-ragging' of their wastewater systems, where solid materials like rags and wipes are manually removed from pump stations. "It is dirty, difficult work — entirely avoidable," said Mr Punch. "I thank the people who are involved in that because someone has to do it and it is not the easiest of jobs to do, but they are doing a service to us all." Earlier this year, a massive fatberg forced the cancellation of US singer Bryan Adams's concert at Perth Arena. The blockage could not be cleared before the concert was due to go ahead and the decision was made to cancel it due to the public health risk. In March, the biggest fatberg ever found in WA was hauled from a sewer in Perth's south. It weighed 30 tonnes and took workers two days to carve it up with an excavator. A new coating for pipes being trialled in Melbourne has been shown to reduce the formation of fatbergs by up to 30 per cent. Mr Punch said it was a simple ask — think before you flush. The message from authorities is only three things go in the toilet — "pee, poo and toilet paper". "When it comes to cooking, let fats and oils cool before scraping them into a jar or a bin — do not put them down the sink," he said. "Those small actions make a big difference. It is a shared responsibility."
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Disgusting find costing Aussie state $1m
A rising tide of so-called 'fatbergs' is choking Western Australia's wastewater system, costing the state more than $1m each year. Water Corporation has revealed 1329 of the blockages – large, foul-smelling clumps of fat, oil, grease, and other non-flushable waste – have been reported in the past year alone. The water supplier says the number of 'fatbergs' – also referred to as 'pipe monsters' – increased sharply from 1152 in 2022 and 918 in 2021. Costing near $1m each year to remove, most were caused by kitchen fats, oils, and grease being poured down sinks, combined with items such as wet wipes and paper towels being flushed down toilets. In one high-profile incident, a sold-out Bryan Adams concert at Perth's RAC Arena was cancelled just hours before its scheduled start in February due to a fatberg blockage in the sewer line outside the venue. Emergency crews were dispatched to clear the smelly mass of grease and rags clogging the Wellington Street system in the CBD. Water Minister Don Punch said 850 of the reported blockages were caused by fats, oils, and grease being poured down sinks. 'Another 379 were caused by non-flushable items like wet wipes, cotton buds, sanitary products and paper towels,' he said. Water Corporation head of treatment and resource recovery Rino Trolio said the removal process was time-consuming, costly, and unpleasant for workers. 'The issue is non-flushable material doesn't disintegrate properly and gets matted with fats, oils and grease mistakenly put down the sink. None of this material should be in the sewer network,' he said. 'As a reminder, only the three Ps – pee, poo and toilet paper – should go down the toilet.' In March, crews spent two days removing WA's largest recorded fatberg – a 30,000kg mass found during routine maintenance in Perth. While fatbergs are a global problem for sewer networks, Water Corporation officials said new standards in Australia and New Zealand now define what can legally be labelled as 'flushable'. 'Despite being labelled as such, not all products labelled as 'flushable' can be flushed down the loo. Most wet wipes, for example, don't disintegrate like toilet paper,' Mr Trolio said. 'Unfortunately, wastewater blockages are a reality faced by every water utility in the world but they are entirely preventable.'
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Fatbergs' wreak havoc on WA's sewer network, costing $1m annually
A rising tide of so-called 'fatbergs' is choking Western Australia's wastewater system, costing the state more than $1m each year. Water Corporation has revealed 1329 of the blockages – large, foul-smelling clumps of fat, oil, grease, and other non-flushable waste – have been reported in the past year alone. The water supplier says the number of 'fatbergs' – also referred to as 'pipe monsters' – increased sharply from 1152 in 2022 and 918 in 2021. Costing near $1m each year to remove, most were caused by kitchen fats, oils, and grease being poured down sinks, combined with items such as wet wipes and paper towels being flushed down toilets. In one high-profile incident, a sold-out Bryan Adams concert at Perth's RAC Arena was cancelled just hours before its scheduled start in February due to a fatberg blockage in the sewer line outside the venue. Emergency crews were dispatched to clear the smelly mass of grease and rags clogging the Wellington Street system in the CBD. Water Minister Don Punch said 850 of the reported blockages were caused by fats, oils, and grease being poured down sinks. 'Another 379 were caused by non-flushable items like wet wipes, cotton buds, sanitary products and paper towels,' he said. Water Corporation head of treatment and resource recovery Rino Trolio said the removal process was time-consuming, costly, and unpleasant for workers. 'The issue is non-flushable material doesn't disintegrate properly and gets matted with fats, oils and grease mistakenly put down the sink. None of this material should be in the sewer network,' he said. 'As a reminder, only the three Ps – pee, poo and toilet paper – should go down the toilet.' In March, crews spent two days removing WA's largest recorded fatberg – a 30,000kg mass found during routine maintenance in Perth. While fatbergs are a global problem for sewer networks, Water Corporation officials said new standards in Australia and New Zealand now define what can legally be labelled as 'flushable'. 'Despite being labelled as such, not all products labelled as 'flushable' can be flushed down the loo. Most wet wipes, for example, don't disintegrate like toilet paper,' Mr Trolio said. 'Unfortunately, wastewater blockages are a reality faced by every water utility in the world but they are entirely preventable.'
West Australian
19-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Karri Karrak Aboriginal Corporation defends costs to Surfing WA for sacred site row
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Don Punch has declined to comment directly on reports the region's newly-formed Indigenous corporation sought restitution from Surfing WA in the wake of complaints about alleged misuse of heritage sites. The news follows a media storm stoked by the Karri Karrak Aboriginal Corporation during last month's Margaret River Pro after the representative group said the State Government ignored its objections to the use of three sites for parking during the event window. Although the Times reported none of those sites, approved by WA's Department of Planning, Heritage and Lands, were actually used during the Pro out of respect to the region's Wadandi people, the corporation said it reserved the right to demand a judicial review. The corporation did not respond this week to requests for comment on whether it would push ahead with that demand or any other action after last month's complaint. A similar complaint during the 2024 Pro led to Surfing WA paying Karri Karrak $9000. Surfing WA chief executive Mark Lane previously apologised for using the overflow parking site in 2024, despite years of what sources called 'a handshake agreement' with Wadandi elders permitting the land to be used. Mr Lane initially declined to comment on the $9000 payment to Karri Karrak, though this week said it was payment 'for a heritage assessment/site visit to monitor potential damages to site'. The minister as well as Karri Karrak hosed down reports the money was a fine levied against the State's top surfing group, with the minister noting the corporation lacked the legislative clout to enforce that. 'The Noongar Regional Corporations do not provide statutory approvals nor issue fines and penalties under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972,' he said. 'We will continue to work with Karri Karrak and encourage proponent engagement with the corporation in protecting Noongar cultural heritage. 'The Noongar Regional Corporations are important partners of the WA Government.' A Karri Karrak spokesperson also said the payment was not a penalty. 'Surfing WA was invoiced for a site inspection, traditional custodian consultation, a formal archaeological and environmental report, and specialist advice to assess potential damages to a site, following its unlawful use for the 2024 event,' the spokesperson said. The report 'found that these heritage places have suffered from significant erosion, specifically from their use for overflow parking during the Margaret River Pro event'. While Surfing WA apologised for not having formal permission last year to use the corner of Wallcliffe and Surfers Point roads, registered as an Indigenous burial place at the Wooditj Dunes, the minister said this year's approvals for the World Surf League were all in place.
West Australian
11-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
State Govt to pump $543 million into Goldfields pipeline to double Kalgoorlie-Boulder's water storage capacity
A 'once-in-a-generation' cash injection of $543 million for the Goldfields pipeline will double the water storage capacity of the Binduli Reservoir that supplies Kalgoorlie-Boulder from 2027. The State Government on Wednesday announced it had allocated the cash in next week's State Budget to 'fast-track' the first stage of critical long-term upgrades to the Goldfields and Agricultural Water Supply Scheme. The expansion will ensure an extra 7.2 million litres of water each day flows down the heritage-listed 122-year-old pipeline from Mundaring Weir near Perth after the installation of 44.5km of 'looping pipe' — most of which would replace the original locking-bar pipe in the shires of Merredin, Westonia and Yilgarn. The new sections will be installed primarily below ground alongside the 566km existing route, with work to start early next year and be complete in 2027. Announcing the State Budget cash at Mt Charlotte Reservoir and Lookout in Kalgoorlie-Boulder — which is the pipeline's endpoint — Water Minister Don Punch said the expansion would be extremely important for the future economic and social growth of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Mr Punch said the project signalled the Cook Government's commitment to regional WA to ensure people had safe drinking water and water supply needs were future-proofed, particularly in a drying climate. 'Clearly, with the growth that's happening and the attractiveness of this region, we need to increase water supply, and that's what this Budget commitment is about,' he said. 'It increases the capacity for growth in the Goldfields and particularly in Kalgoorlie, and we want to make sure there is a secure future for this region.' Member for Kalgoorlie Ali Kent said the expansion project was a once-in-a-generation commitment from the State Government. 'We all know what water is like, the scarcity of water when you live (600km) from Perth, so to have this security for our water system for the residents, for industry, for all future generations is just . . . magnificent,' she said. Mr Punch said the pipeline expansion would not directly flow to mining operations such as Lynas Rare Earths' $800m processing facility or the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Club, as both received their water supplies from recycled wastewater from the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. 'This is a separate project from that (the city's wastewater supply) entirely but it does mean that more water is coming into the region and there will be a proportion that water that finds (its way) into the waste management system so there should be additional water capacity after 2027,' he said. Water Corporation chief executive Pat Donovan said the pipeline's existing capacity was 75 million litres of water a day. Mr Donovan said the expansion would increase capacity by about 10 per cent, and double the Binduli Reservoir's current capacity of 400 megalitres.
