You should only flush the 3Ps down your loo – that’s pee, poo and paper. Everything else should go in the bin – and only water should go down the plughole! Everyone can do this to help to keep our seas and beaches clean.
Surface water, flooding and bathing waters are closely linked. The different factors interplay and affect each other more than you might think.
A LOT of work has been done here on the Fylde Coast to make sure that our bathing waters on the Fylde Coast pass the tightened levels set by the European Bathing Water Directive.
Hundreds of millions of pounds have also been spent on new infrastructure. You might have seen the investment at Anchorsholme Park and Harrowside in Blackpool.
Only Flush the 3Ps
One in ten people in the North West has suffered from a blocked private drain in the past. Customers are forced to pay out an average of £99 each time a plumber needs to repair them.
At the same time, blockages in public sewers can cause serious knock on problems for our local bathing water quality. Blockages can cause sewers to back up and spill over into watercourses or onto our beaches and into the sea.
Bacteria in the sea doesn’t just come from big polluters. The actions of each and every person can contribute to overflow of sewage into rivers. Putting rubbish down the loo can mean that bacteria and sanitary waste ends up on our beaches.
The UKs drainage and sewage systems were built in times long ago when water usage and populations were lower. So if a blockage occurs in the pipes at a time which coincides with heavy rain and sewage flow, the system simply cannot cope. The excess has to be spewed out into the environment. Or it could overflow up your toilet and into your bathroom instead…?
What about Wet Wipes? Only Flush the 3Ps!
Environmental campaigners across the Fylde coast are calling for a change of rules on the way that wet wipes are advertised across the UK.
Way back in 2016, members of the region’s Fylde Peninsula Water Management Partnership appealed to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA). They asked them to make it illegal for firms to use the misleading term ‘flushable’ in adverts, promotions and packaging.
Despite advertising claims, cleaning, baby and make up wipes are some of the main culprits of blocked drains in the North West. United Utilities have to clear around 25,000 blockages every year at a cost of £10m. That’s money which could be used to reduce your water bills.
Washed up on the beach
Volunteers who clean Fylde coast beaches often find wet wipes washed up from when pipes spill into the sea. Not only is this unpleasant and polluting, but potentially harmful to wildlife.
Even the ‘flushable’ wipes don’t break down like toilet paper. They’re often found tangled up with seaweed and not broken down at all. So please, think before you flush.
Wipes also combine with fats and oils in the sewage system to create ‘fatbergs’. These huge masses of gunk solidify and block the sewage system. When it rains the sewers can’t cope – and that’s why flooding occurs. Engineers see first-hand the misery they can cause after a blocked sewer floods inside someone’s home.
Fat and Oils – Not if you only flush the 3Ps!
From kitchen to coast – don’t cause a stink by putting oil down your sink! It’s not just toilets – please don’t put leftover fat and oil down the plughole. It can result in untreated sewage ending up on our beaches.
This small bottle of grease and fat came from cooking one relatively small chicken. Imagine multiplying that by every house in the UK!
With millions of households, restaurants and eateries potentially washing their cooking fat away with the dishwater, it’s a huge problem. The UK’s leading marine charity, Marine Conservation Society (MCS), always asks you not to pour leftover cooking fats and oils down the sink.
Fats, oils and grease – FOGs for short – can cause major problems in pipes, drains and sewers. This waste congeals to form blockages which can lead to flooding in homes and pollution in our seas.
Sewers clogged up with fat stops waste water reaching treatment works. It can ultimately result in untreated sewage ending up on our beaches and in the sea.
If leftover fat goes down the sink, even with hot water and washing up liquid, it soon sets hard in the cold pipes. When it mixes with other unflushable items, such as wet wipes and sanitary products, it creates what is known as a ‘fatberg’.
Fatbergs
Fatbergs can be enormous – they clog the sewerage pipes and stop waste water from reaching treatment works. The risk of sewage spilling out into homes, streets, rivers and seas is substantially increased.
Did you know? If everybody made this small change to only flush the 3Ps, it could make a big difference to our seas and beaches.
How to get rid of FOGs safely –
- Pour into a heat resistant container then recycle or bin once cooled.
- Wipe out greasy pans with kitchen roll before washing.
- Use foil when cooking greasy food that can be thrown away
- Catch greasy food scraps in a sink strainer to make sure they don’t go down the plughole.
These are some of the other things that you might be putting down your drains and toilets. They cause the problem that you find distasteful on our beaches:
- wipes and sanitary products, which cause blockages in sewers and hence overspill into rivers
- baby nappies and similar products/wipes also cause blockages
- using your toilet as a bin
- excess amounts of water being discharged into drains
- disposing fats and oils down your drains and blocking them
Other Reasons for Bacteria in Bathing Waters
There’s a popular idea that bacteria levels in the water are just to do with sewage being pumped out to sea. That’s not so, and so the answer doesn’t just lie with United Utilities. A whole host of factors affect bacteria levels. These include:
- dog poo which owners believe they can leave behind on the beaches
- donkey manure which isn’t picked up
- manure washing off farmers fields in surrounding areas, often far away
- dull skies which allow bacteria to flourish in the water (sunshine kills it off)
- activities as far away as Preston and Lancaster can affect the Fylde coast
- high levels of rainfall
Make a Difference
You don’t have to live near the sea to make a difference. Being considerate about what you put down your drains can make a difference at the coast.
- Please join a local beach clean group.
- Read more here about the Rossall Beach Group who look after the beach at Cleveleys
- Pick litter up on your own!
While you’re here…
Go to the homepage of the Visit Fylde Coast website for the latest updates.
Love the Fylde Coast? Sign up for your email newsletter. Packed full of interesting things it arrives in your inbox all 52 weeks of the year.
Join us on Facebook at our Visit Fylde Coast Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @visitFyldeCoast
Plus hundreds of videos to watch on our YouTube channel – from all over the Fylde Coast!
Booking a stay? Pick a safe, clean and legal place to stay, at the very best price. Book using the Visit Fylde Coast Accommodation guide.
