By Amelia Swan
Water Corporation has revealed 1329 of the blockages 鈥 large, foul-smelling clumps of fat, oil, grease, and other non-flushable waste 鈥 have been reported in the past year alone.
The water supplier says the number of 鈥渇atbergs鈥 鈥 also referred to as 鈥減ipe monsters鈥 鈥 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鈥檚 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.
鈥淎nother 379 were caused by non-flushable items like wet wipes, cotton buds, sanitary products and paper towels,鈥 he said.
Water Corporation head of treatment and resource recovery Rino Trolio said the removal process was time-consuming, costly, and unpleasant for workers.
鈥淭he issue is non-flushable material doesn鈥檛 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,鈥 he said.
鈥淎s a reminder, only the three Ps 鈥 pee, poo and toilet paper 鈥 should go down the toilet.鈥
In March, crews spent two days removing WA鈥檚 largest recorded fatberg 鈥 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 鈥渇lushable鈥.
鈥淒espite being labelled as such, not all products labelled as 鈥榝lushable鈥 can be flushed down the loo. Most wet wipes, for example, don鈥檛 disintegrate like toilet paper,鈥 Mr Trolio said.
鈥淯nfortunately, wastewater blockages are a reality faced by every water utility in the world but they are entirely preventable.鈥