Canberra, it’s now your turn to free the poo

In 2021, you saw our team of blockage busters in action removing wet wipes and other nasties from our wastewater network. Many Canberrans have also helped Icon Water free the poo by avoiding flushing wet wipes and binning them instead. But do you have what it takes to help us clean our wastewater network... virtually?

On World Water Day 2022, we are launching our very own Free the Poo game. This immersive and fun experience lets players head down into our wastewater network to destroy the wet wipes blocking our pipes. The game will help increase players understanding of our wastewater network and the impacts on our systems and the community of flushing wet wipes and putting other unsuitable products down the toilet, drains or sinks.

Canberra was recently ranked as one of the worst Australian cities regarding total sewer main breaks and chokes per 100 km of pipes. Over 48,000 trees line the streets of our bush capital, and a significant number of blockages occur when wet wipes and other nasties get caught or entangled with tree roots. Wipes also cause all kinds of issues at our wastewater treatment plants where they have to be manually removed.

“Our Free the Poo campaign is definitely a step in a different direction from previous initiatives. Sewer blockages are a significant issue costing money and time to fix, so we are looking to the Canberra community through this quirky and interactive campaign to help us protect our sewerage network from things that shouldn’t be there. We want them to care about what happens underground and only flush the 3Ps (pee, poo and toilet paper). This new interactive element of our Free the Poo campaign is an exciting opportunity to educate Canberrans on the effects of wipes on Canberra’s sewers and illustrate the work needed to clear them,” says Icon Water General Manager Davina McCormick.

The game is available for all to play via iconwater.com.au/game and can also be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play, and we will be demonstrating it at Questacon this week as part of our World Water Day activities. We are also working with Questacon to deliver water education activities all week as part of our awareness of water sustainability partnership.

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