A WATER company will spend millions of pounds surveying and unblocking Leyton’s clogged sewers.
Along with East Ham and Harrow, the area sees more blocked sewage pipes than anywhere else in London, according to Thames Water.
The blockages are caused by people pouring cooking fat, sanitary products and other non-degradable items into their drains.
And, as it gets to grips with a new government law which will see 40,000km of privately-owned pipes come under its control, Thames Water will spend £4m surveying and cleaning sewage networks in the three ‘block-spots’.
The law change means that many sewers which used to be the responsibility of homeowners, will now have to be dealt with by Thames Water.
The company estimates it will have to deal with 250,000 blockages a year under the new law which came in on Saturday (October 1).
Leyton, East Ham and Harrow are currently responsible for 4% of the blockages which Thames Water deals with annually in the capital.
Bob Collington, Thames Water’s asset management director, said: "Our sewer network is increasing 60% overnight, and the added workload that will bring draws into sharp focus the need to combat what we call 'sewer abuse' – putting anything other than human waste and loo roll down drains.”
He added: "Sewer flooding is truly miserable and we're committed to doing everything we can to prevent it.
“And after Saturday’s change takes effect we will have a lot more sewers to keep an eye on, which makes us all the more keen to reiterate our anti-sewer abuse message 'Bin it – don’t block it' – particularly to people in Leyton, Harrow and East Ham.”
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