NI Water has successfully repaired a blocked sewer pipe in Fountain Hill, Antrim.

Five members of the team were called to remove a large rock from the pipe, which took three days and three tankers to clear.

Gavin McCready, sewerage manager for the area, explained: "Our crews responded to an overflowing manhole located at Fountain Hill in Antrim. After a failed attempt to jet the blockage out, CCTV was brought in which revealed the blockage was a rock lodged in the sewer.

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"We don't know how this rock entered the sewer; it could have been there for many years and simply moved or it could have been thrown down a manhole. Either way, it certainly created an issue for our teams who spent three days working to release it. 

"The swift action from staff who commenced tankering of sewerage out of the pipe prevented a possible pollution to the Six Mile Water.

"To provide a sense of scale, a trunk sewer pipe, which takes wastewater from hundreds of homes, can be in the region of 300mm in diameter; so you can imagine the size of the rock that was stuck."

In the last ten years, NI Water has spent over £1.5 billion investing in water and wastewater infrastructure.

(CM/MH)