The counties and postcodes with the most sewer blockages in NI revealed

NI Water has revealed the worst counties in Northern Ireland for sewer blockages as part of an Easter campaign to highlight the problems these cause.

Co Antrim has been named the worst blockage hotspot in the country, with 3736 blockages reported in 2024. The water provider says the most common items blocking the pipes are wipes, sanitary items, fats, oils, and grease.

The BT47 postcode in Co Derry was found to be the postcode with the highest number of reports.

Co Fermanagh had the lowest number of blockages, 831, although the Enniskillen postcode BT74 had one of the highest numbers.

NI Water’s Head of Environmental Regulation Angela Halpenny said: “NI Water fights a daily battle with blocked sewers. This often increases in frequency over holiday periods when people are spending more time at home or maybe cooking up traditional roasts and enjoying home baking.

“As Easter approaches, we are ‘flushing’ out the worst offenders in a bid to reduce blockages. If your town is on the list, check are your flushing habits adding to the problem.”

Angela continued: “We have all seen the disgusting effects of an overflowing manhole in the street or, worse, an overflowing toilet in a home. We hope that our customers get behind us and start adopting better ‘bin it’ habits.

“It is well publicised that out-of-sewer flooding can cause pollution in our watercourses and seriously damage the environment. It is very frustrating that many of these incidents could be prevented if we all worked together to stop using our sewers as a bin. No amount of investment in our sewer system will stop blocked pipes if people continue to flush wipes (including flushable), sanitary items and fats, oils and grease down the toilet or sink. Legally it is an offence for property owners to inappropriately flush such items.”

Further information on NI Water’s campaign is available online at www.niwater.com/bag-it-and-bin-it/

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