<p>Officials in Macomb County, Michigan, on September 12 reported a 100-foot-long “fatberg,” comprised of oil, grease, wet wipes, and other materials, found blocking up a sewer line and urged the public to be mindful of what they wash down the drain.</p><p>County officials said the fatberg weighed up to 19 tons, not including liquids, and was six-feet tall at some points.</p><p>Around $100,000 was allocated for its removal, though the task of breaking it up proved more difficult than expected, officials said. “Initially high-pressure jets of water were used but failed to break apart the fatberg. Sewer workers then used hand saws and shovels to break it up,” according to a statement from the Macomb County Office of Public Works. The solid materials were extracted and disposed of in a landfill while the liquids were returned to the sewer, they said.</p><p>In recent years, officials in various cities around the world have shared footage of fatbergs in sewers to increase awareness. A fatberg found in Baltimore in 2017 caused the overflow of 1.2 million gallons of sewage into waterways, according to local reports</a>. The same year, London officials reported the discovery of a "820-foot fatberg weighing 130 tons:http://stryfl.com/4113 in Whitechapel, describing it as one of the largest ever found.</p><p>On Wednesday, the same day the Macomb County fatberg was reported, a special-edition manhole cover</a> was placed over the site of the Whitechapel fatberg, bearing the words: “The Whitechapel fatberg was defeated here in 2017.”</p><p>On Thursday, officials in St. Andrews, Scotland, announced a scheme</a> to educated business owners on better ways to dispose of oil and grease. Credit: Macomb County Office of Public Works via Storyful</p><br />
