Cardiff sewer fat weighing 800 tonnes removed

Image source, Welsh Water

Image caption, The sewer with a fatberg inside

Fat weighing the equivalent of 133 African bull elephants has been removed from Cardiff's sewers.

Specialist equipment was used to remove the fat which had built up in the Victorian sewer system.

So far, about 800 tonnes has been removed from underneath Mermaid Quay in Cardiff.

The fat was removed by Welsh Water as part of a 拢2 million investment project that began in September.

The work was needed due to large blockages in the sewer caused by the build-up of fat, oil and grease and other inappropriate items being put into the sewer.

Image source, Welsh Water

Image caption, The sewer with the fat removed

Steve Wilson, the company's managing director of wastewater services, said the "sheer volume" of material showed how big the issue was to deal with.

"We always ask our customers to be careful about what they dispose of down the drains so that our sewers continue to operate effectively," he said.

"We are working with the businesses in and around Mermaid Quay to make sure they have the right equipment in place to help them dispose of fats, oils and grease in the correct way to ensure this doesn't happen again.

"We are also running our 'Let's Stop the Block' campaign which is aimed at encouraging people to help reduce the risk of pollution and sewage flooding by not putting fat, oil and grease down the drains."