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Redcliffe and Clontarf have been named among the top wastewater blockage hotspots in Unitywater’s latest report, with residents urged to think carefully about what they flush down the toilet or wash down the sink.
Read: Unitywater and Sunshine Coast Lightning Launch Community Partnership in Redcliffe
The two suburbs featured in Unitywater’s top ten list of blockages for 2024/25, with Redcliffe recording 92 blockages and Clontarf 90 over the past year.
Unitywater Executive Manager Customer Delivery, Rhett Duncan, said household habits were a major factor behind the problem.
Blocked pump in Unitywaters wastewater network (Photo supplied)
“The only things that are ok to flush down the toilet are pee, poo and toilet paper,” Mr Duncan said.
“Toilet paper is manufactured specifically to breakdown in water within 30 seconds, unlike tissues and paper towel which are marketed for their strength, or wet wipes which often contain plastics.
“These unflushables can combine with fats and oils to create large lumps that block the pipes under your house, the wastewater pipes under your street, or clog the pumps that are meant to be pushing this wastewater to a treatment plant.
Wet wipes, oils, fats, paper towels and other items that shouldn’t be flushed or put down the sink mix together causing blockages in Unitywater’s wastewater network (Photo supplied)
“When there’s a blockage in the pipe, the next flush could cause it all to come back up through your bathroom floor drains in a big smelly mess, and no one wants to have to clean that up.”
Other Moreton Bay suburbs also featured prominently on the list, including Caboolture (134 blockages), Narangba (89) and Deception Bay (82). Together with Redcliffe and Clontarf, these areas accounted for almost a quarter of all blockages reported across the wider Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa regions.
Unitywater has urged households to keep small bins in bathrooms, avoid rinsing food scraps into sinks, and collect cooking oils in jars to dispose of in the bin. Mr Duncan said simple steps could save homes from costly damage and prevent sewage overflows in streets.
“Pre-wipe pots and pans with paper towel before doing the washing up and keep a jar under the sink to collect larger amounts of used cooking oil and put it in the bin once it’s full,” he said.
“Use a sink strainer to redirect those vegie scraps, coffee grinds and egg shells, which are great in a compost or green waste bin, along with expired milk which can be put onto garden beds.”
Read: It’s Not the Sewers: Redcliffe’s Rotten Egg Smell Explained
Find out more about the hidden problems in the wastewater network at www.unitywater.com/creatures.
Published 19-August-2025
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