Jill S. Jones: Public sewer systems face an onslaught of wet wipes

2022-05-07 00:53:41 By : Ms. Liya Li

(Charleston Water System via AP) This photo provided by Charleston Water System on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, shows huge balls of oily, black used wet wipes and baby wipes that had clogged intake pumps in Charleston, S.C. The Charleston Water System had to send in the divers nearly 100 feet (30 meters) into a sewer well after the wipes, congealed by grease and other items sent into the pipes, clogged the suction intake pumps to the Plum Island Wastewater Treatment Center on James Island.

When I was a kid, I was told you did not want to be “the lowest person on the totem pole.” I wondered who that was. The dictionary said it was “the person with the least amount of experience, authority and/or influence in a group or organization.”

I was never sure who that was until I started working at a clean water agency (sewer plant, if you will). There I realized that sometimes it was me. People don’t talk about sewer stuff. Pull the drain plug, pour it down the sink, flush it down the toilet and forget about it. Dust off your hands and the job is done. But further down that totem pole we were there to treat the pollutants you got rid of. No complaints. It’s our job, and we think an important one.

Typically, we don’t ask for the public’s help. Until now. It’s time to have a conversation about wet wipes.

For far too long, clean water agencies and their workers have dealt with the clogs, strained and damaged equipment and extra costs and dangers associated with the improper disposal of disposable nonwoven products — commonly known as wet wipes — that are flushed into sewer systems but do not break down as advertised. Utility ratepayers — in other words, you and me — have paid the literal price for these mislabeled products through higher rates to address the sewer system damage they cause.

Many wipes on the market today that are labeled as “flushable” are prone to getting stuck in plumbing, forming clogs in sewer lines and causing mechanical failures for utilities. Yet consumers are misled to believe that they are appropriate for disposal down the toilet.

We have talked about the problem, entertained legislators with sewer stories, asked people to toss them, don’t flush them and other such messages to hopefully slow down the onslaught of wet wipes.

That is why we applaud the work of U.S. Reps. Lisa McClain, R-Michigan, and Alan Lowenthal, D-California, and U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, for introducing legislation to solve this problem. Specifically, it directs the Federal Trade Commission — in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — to issue regulations requiring wipes manufacturers to include clear, consumer-friendly “Do Not Flush” labeling on the packaging of wet wipes that are not designed to be flushed. This legislation will protect critical wastewater infrastructure in homes and communities, help consumers make informed choices and reduce the risk of sewer backups and overflows.

Hopefully, these kinds of ongoing, gentle reminders will help people remember not to rush to flush wet wipes. If that happens, people can go back to forgetting about their flushes and let those of us on the lower levels of the totem pole get back to our jobs cleaning up without you giving it another thought.

Jill S. Jones is a member of the Wasatch Front Water Quality Council and general manager of the Central Davis Sewer District, Kaysville.

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