All but one of Toronto Water's projects completed between January 2020 and March 2025 was finished later than originally planned, according to a new report from the city's auditor general that lays out several issues in the way the city's sewer system is kept in working shape. In those five years, there were 18 projects overseen by the city division, largely concerning sewer infrastructure upkeep.
A colossal 100-tonne fatberg has been successfully cleared from a west London sewer, Thames Water has revealed. The utility firm confirmed a specialist team spent over a month removing the massive obstruction, located more than 10m below street level in Feltham. This solid mass was primarily composed of wet wipes, solidified by fat, oil, and grease. Its immense weight was equivalent to eight double-decker buses, the company stated.
Engineers have used artificial intelligence to spot blockages in a sewer in Kent. Southern Water used radar sensors to discover a fatberg and a gym weight blocking a sewage pipe in Folkestone. The obstruction was uncovered in Chalcroft Road after electronic sewer monitors flagged unusual wastewater levels. Southern Water's team arrived at the site before the sewer could flood, and discovered the fatberg wrapped around the gym weight. The AI radars have been trained to learn normal sewer behaviours and identify when blockages are appearing.