15-tonne “fatberg” clogs U.K. city sewer

Thames Water in the United Kingdom has had to deal with what it thinks is the largest “fatberg” ever in a metropolitan sewer. According to reports in the Associated Press and National Post, the blob consisted of congealed fat, baby wipes and other debris and weighed 15 tonnes. It was so large only 5% of the flow going through a 70 x 48 cm pipe could get through.

An official with the utility said “While we’ve removed greater volumes of fat from under central London in the past, we’ve never seen a single, congealed lump of lard this big clogging our sewers before.”

Located in Kingston, Surrey near London, the problem was only discovered after nearby residents couldn’t flush their toilets.

To read the full article in the National Post and see an image, click here.