Thames Water’s east London sewermen have released their own reworded version of the carol Good King Wenceslas to stop people flushing turkey fat and wet wipes down the drain during the Christmas holidays. The song is part of the water company’s “Bin it – don’t block it” campaign to educate the public about sewer blockages. Around Christmas, 25 per cent more fat goes down drains in the London and Thames Valley area (pop. 8.7 million) served by Thames Valley. The company estimates that 500 tonnes of fat will end up it the drains in December 2010.
Thames Water is donating 1p (1.5 US dollar cents) to WaterAid for every hit the film gets on YouTube (up to a maximum of 200,000 views, ending on 31 January 2011).
Large build up of fat in Reading sewer. Photo: Thames Water
Besides awareness-raising campaigns, Thames Water is working with the water industry and trade associations to develop the SNAP (Sewer Network Action Programme) SNAP protocol, which will determine whether or not an individual product is flushable in terms of sewer disposal.
Related web sites:
- Thames Water – Bin it – don’t block it
- Water UK – Sewer Network Action Programme (SNAP)
Source: WaterAid, 21 Dec 2010 ; Thames Water, 21 Dec 2010
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