FATBERGS have become a titanic problem across the Hunter Water network, prompting the utility to launch a campaign on how to prevent the costly blockages in its pipes.
Hunter Water reported on Friday that the past five weeks have forced its crews to tackle the dirty job of removing blockages from pipes more often "as a result of more products like paper towel and wet wipes being flushed in the wake of the toilet paper shortage".
Blockages have been found at Burwood, the company said, while 22 tonnes of fatberg has been removed at Morpeth. It follows Midcoast Council blaming panic buyers for increased trouble with its network earlier this month which it also attributed to the dearth of toilet paper in supermarkets.
Minister for Water, Property and Housing, Melinda Pavey said it was up to households to ensure they treated plumbing with respect before it resulted in backflows or expensive repair bills for them.
"There has been a rise in non-flushable items such as wet wipes being disposed of down the toilet," Mrs Pavey said.
"Flushing alternatives to toilet paper - wet wipes, kitchen paper, newspaper or tissues - can have serious consequences for public health and the environment.
"The Lower Hunter has plenty of toilet paper - people just need to stop panic-buying it. If you must use an alternative to toilet paper, you must discard of it in a bin - no exceptions. "
Hunter Water's acting executive manager service delivery for customers Glen Robinson said it was clear these were unusual times, but people needed to understand the importance of limiting what went down the tubes.
"We understand our customers may be feeling frustrated if they can't purchase toilet paper at the moment, but it's really important that if they need to use anything else, then they should bag and bin it instead," Mr Robinson said.
"Products such as paper towel, tissues and wet wipes don't break down quickly enough in water and can cause large, expensive blockages in our wastewater system or in a customer's own pipes at their cost and inconvenience.
"Our workers have reported seeing a significant increase in these materials, particularly at our Burwood and Belmont plants since the start of March, leading to blockages in our pumps and screening equipment."
Hunter Water storage levels are at 67.7 per cent, down 2.3 per cent on a year ago but up 2.4 per cent on a month earlier. Level one water restrictions remain in place.
