Northern Ireland Water Ltd.

09/18/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/18/2025 08:57

Press release & pic: Wipes and fats cause of spill into local river

NI Water has confirmed a sewer spill into a local watercourse was caused by a blockage of baby wipes, and fats, oil and grease in the sewer. The company is appealing to the local community to bin their wipes and use their sewer system correctly. The impact of misuse of the sewer is damage to the local environment, and in this case, the local watercourse.

An NI Water spokesperson commented: "Staff were alerted to a sewage leak in the Killybracken Road area of Dungannon on Monday 15th September. Our team was dispatched immediately to investigate and clear the blockage. The blockage was removed at approximately 9pm on Monday 15th September. It was a complicated operation and required heavy duty machinery to be brought in to complete the job. A clean-up has since been carried out, with all sewage related debris removed from site.

"As a follow up, NI Water contractors completed a 1350m desilt of the network, equivalent to 15 football pitches in length, to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. Such was the build-up of fats, oils and grease (FOG) in our network, this was deemed essential and will come with significant cost. A CCTV survey has also been planned to ensure there are no structure defects within the network.

"This sewer blockage was caused by items that had been inappropriately flushed into the wastewater system. NI Water would like to take this opportunity to remind the public to only flush the 3 Ps - pee, poo and paper. All other waste should be binned. A wastewater drain (sewer) is only designed to take human waste and toilet paper. Other waste can cause blockages leading to out-of-sewer flooding.

"No amount of investment in our sewers will stop out of sewer flooding if additional items are flushed down the toilet rather than put in a bin. The damage caused to the local watercourse could be prevented if everyone follows the 3 P's rule. Further information can be found online via Bag it And Bin it - Northern Ireland Water."

Ends

Media enquiries to the NI Water Press Office via email to [email protected]

Northern Ireland Water Ltd. published this content on September 18, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 18, 2025 at 14:57 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]