BBC Two Northern Ireland

Watermen: A Dirty Business

Hannah Wyatt

Simon Kerfoot

Watermen: A Dirty Business: Episode 2

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Episode 2

BBC Two - Watermen: A Dirty Business, Episode 2

How water companies tackle the hundreds of litres of fat poured down the drains each week.

Series following workers from one of Britain's biggest water companies, this time looking at how they tackle the hundreds of litres of fat poured down the drains each week.

Focusing on the men and women who take our calls, come to unblock the drains and keep the sewage flowing. This episode is all about fat. From a clogged lift shaft in a nursing home to the sewers under Manchester's city centre - hundreds of litres of this greasy and gross substance is poured down the drains each week in the north west and this programme looks at just how messy things can get when the fat gets backed up. Manchester's waste water treatment centre treats 714 million litres of sewage a day, from false teeth to lumps of fat the size of a small car. It can take up to a week removing the leftover grease and fat from the gigantic tanks. 

But it's not all rancid waste. We also meet the leak detectives, visit households affected by leaking pipes, come across a housing development being illegally supplied with water, and meet Stuart, who travels the region testing the pH and chlorine levels in customers' homes. 

And over in Liverpool, we wait patiently on the docks for a 1,000-foot pipe, costing half a million pounds, to arrive from Norway for the local treatment plant.

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Following the people who work for one of Britain's biggest water companies.

Getting clean water can be a dirty business and people only notice when something goes wrong. This series follows those who run and work for one of Britain's biggest water companies.

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