Sydney Water ordered to clean Malabar treatment plant where fatberg is birthing poo balls

Sydney Water must develop ‘a system to capture debris overflowing from the sewer during severe wet weather events’ and address a fatberg birthing poo balls. Composite: Guardian Design

The New South Wales environment watchdog has ordered Sydney Water to remove fats from its Malabar wastewater treatment plant, a month after Guardian Australia revealed a huge fatberg was responsible for the poo balls that closed beaches last summer.

Sydney Water isn’t sure exactly how big the fatberg is because it cannot easily access the area where it has accumulated. It could be the size of four Sydney buses.