Coliban Water campaign leads to record low sewer blockages

In 2022/23, Coliban Water crews cleared 335 sewer blockages in central Victoria - an average of 16 per 100 kilometres of pipeline.

This is a 75 per cent reduction compared to 2013/14 when there was 63 blockages every 100 kilometres.

It's all thanks to a dedicated long-term campaign to improve the health of the region's sewer network.

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Coliban Water's chief officer assets and operations Danny McLean said increasing investment to more than $1 million each year had improved sewer performance and reduced service interruptions.

"This is a huge reduction in blockages and it's a win-win for our environment and the sewer network," he said.

"The extra funding has allowed for additional network cleaning and camera monitoring of our sewers.

"This means less sewer overflows, and less impact to our customers, communities and the environment, which includes waterways."

In the 2013/14 financial year crews cleared 1171 blockages from 1550 kilometres of pipe.

Ten years later in the 2022/23 financial year, there was 335 blockages cleared from almost 1800 kilometres of pipe.

Mr McLean said the news also served as a good reminder that people should only flush the three Ps - pee, poo and toilet paper.

"The most common sewer blockages are caused by tree roots, baby wipes and fats and oils that shouldn't be put down the drain," he said.

"Things like baby wipes, paper towels, tissues and sanitary products can take years break down while fats, oils and grease build up. They can all blocks our pipes and cause sewer spills."

To clear the sewers between manholes, contractors use high-pressure water jets to help remove the blockage.

"We want to avoid repeat failures so we concentrate our efforts on where there is a high likelihood of multiple blockages," Mr McLean said.

This reduction in blockages has allowed Coliban Water to focus on renewal of ageing assets and installation of new assets to address population growth in the region.

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"We're entering a period of significant growth, and we continue to navigate a rapidly changing environment, whilst planning for the future," Mr McLean said.

"We're embarking on our Big Water Build capital program, which is a five-year program of time-critical infrastructure upgrades and renewals to underpin our region's prosperity and help us address the challenges we face."

Visit coliban.com.au/sewer-main-cleaning for more information.

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