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Officials hope Detroit-area ‘fatberg’ offers teaching moment

Posted at 9:15 AM, Sep 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-12 09:16:03-04

The Fatberg – photo from Macomb Co. Public Works via Fox2 Detroit

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Officials in suburban Detroit hope the discovery of a large fatberg in a sewer line will help educate the public about what shouldn’t go down the drain.

The Macomb County Public Works Office says workers cleared an 11-foot-diameter (3.4-meter-wide) pipe in Clinton Township that was partially clogged by the collection of oils, grease, fat and solid items such as baby wipes. It was about 100 feet (30.1-meters) long and as much as 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall.

Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller says in a statement Tuesday that the “gross” fatberg “provides an opportunity … to talk with people about the importance of restricting what goes down our sewers.” Officials say grease and baby wipes, for example, should be kept out of the sewers.

An educational outreach partnership is planned.