Fatberg the size of four buses likely birthed poo balls that closed Sydney beaches and it can't be cleared

"Sydney Water isn't sure exactly how big the fatberg is because it can't easily access where it has accumulated. Fixing the problem would require shutting down the outfall which reaches 2.3km offshore for maintenance and diverting sewage to cliff face discharge, which would close Sydney's beaches for months, a secret report obtained by Guardian Australia states. This has never been done and is no longer considered an acceptable approach, the report acknowledges."

"The working hypothesis is FOG [fats, oils and grease] accumulation in an inaccessible dead zone between the Malabar bulkhead door and the decline tunnel has potentially led to sloughing events, releasing debris balls, the report concludes. This chamber was not designed for routine maintenance and can only be accessed by taking the Doof offline and diverting effluent to the cliff-face for an extended period (months), which would close Sydney beaches."

A giant fatberg, potentially the size of four Sydney buses, has accumulated in the Malabar deepwater ocean sewer. The accumulation lies in an inaccessible dead zone between the Malabar bulkhead door and the decline tunnel, where FOG (fats, oils and grease) buildup likely caused sloughing events that released debris balls onto beaches in late 2024 and early 2025. The first dislodgement coincided with a four-minute loss of raw sewage pumping on 15 October 2024; a similar rapid pressure change during wet weather occurred on 11 January 2025. Remediation would require taking the 2.3km offshore outfall offline and diverting effluent to a cliff-face discharge, closing beaches for months; that approach has never been used and is considered unacceptable.

Read at www.theguardian.com