Welcome to Public Health On Call, a podcast from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,

where we bring evidence, experience, and perspective to make sense of today's leading health challenges.

If you have questions or ideas for us, please send an email to Public Health Question at jh.edu.

That's Public Health Question at jh.edu for future podcast episodes.

This is Annalise Winnie, Associate Editor of Global Health Now and producer of Public Health in the field.

Today is World Water Day, and we've had something special in of public health in the field.

Today is World Water Day, and we've had something special in the works to mark the occasion.

This year, the Bloomberg School teamed up with Fluid Movement Baltimore, an iconic performance art group to tell the story of a public health menace in our cities. Fatbergs.

These gross, unmovable blobs can clog up sanitary sewer systems leading to sewer backups and costly removal projects.

We wanted to know where Fatbergs come from and what they reveal about the essential public health infrastructure hidden beneath our feet.

So I spoke with Natalie Exum, assistant scientist in the Department of Environmental

Health and Engineering, and Alice Fulpita, Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper for Blue Water

Baltimore, a nonprofit that serves as a watchdog for the city's water systems.

Let's dive in.

So first off, what is a fatberg?

A fatberg is typically made out of what is the bane of a utility's existence, which is fog,

which is fat oil and grease.

And that fat oil and grease very quickly gets stuck to things that get flushed down our drains that should not be flushed

down our drains, most namely non-biodegradable wipes. Believe it or not, people put clothes down

their drain. People put unbelievable things down their drains. Tampons and pads, things like diapers,

plastic bags that get flushed, dental floss. And so when those

kind of bigger substances gets mixed together with this fat oil and grease, you just have these

...