HOT TOPIC SEPTIC AND SEWER SYSTEMS Please don’t flush those ‘flushable’ wipes Products are causing millions in damage. By Albrey Arrington and Bevin Beaudet As directors of two local environmental resource agencies, we wanted to bring public attention to an issue of increasing concern. We’ve all seen the ads for “flushable” bathroom wipes or cleansing cloths, which promise no expense to the environment. However, these pre-moistened cloths have become one of the most detrimental enemies to septic and sewer systems across the country. Touted as “flushable,” these wipes may go down the toilet, but they do not break down as they flow through the sewer system. Instead, they clog up pumps and pipes, causing blockages, backups and in some cases millions of dollars in maintenance and repairs. Wastewater utilities throughout southern Florida have seen the devastating consequences of these “flushable” wipes, including failure of critical wastewater collection components, which lead to raw sewage spills, and very costly repairs, none of which are helpful to the environment. Consequently, wastewater agencies are joining together to reach our customers to create awareness of the issue and enlist your support. This message is unanimously supported by heads of regional wastewater agencies, including Bertha Goldenberg, P.E., chair, Southeast Florida Utility Council; Chris Helfrich, P.E., director of utility services, City of Boca Raton; and Dennis Coates, executive director, South Central Regional Wastewater Board. The issue recently gained international attention when London wastewater officials removed a 15-ton bulge of wrongly flushed wipes from the sewer. In New York, the problem got so bad in one neighborhood that sewer officials actually set up strainers in sections of recurring clogged pipes to determine which households were responsible for flushed wipes. Sewer officials in Vancouver, Wash., say flushing disposable wipes has caused them to spend $1 million replacing and repairing equipment damaged by wipes. They even proved their point by dyeing several brands of “flushable” wipes and sending them through the sewer lines for a mile to see how they would break up. Unfortunately, the wipes remained intact. We’re dealing with common sense here. If you can’t easily rip a wipe in half, it is not going to break down in your sewer system. With the mass marketing of flushable wipes, this $600 million-a-year industry is expected to continue to cause problems in septic and sewer systems. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies says it has been hearing complaints about wipes from sewer systems and expects those complaints will increase. More and more field technicians throughout Palm Beach County are responding to backups and equipment failures caused by these wipes. We are not saying that wipes are solely responsible for all clogged sewer lines; however, they are a real and growing problem. The industry needs to address this problem, but right now we need our customers to understand that flushing these wipes can lead to expensive and nasty problems. We encourage you to consider the negative effect these wipes have on your sewer system and the environment. If you insist on using such wipes, we ask that you please dispose of them in the trash — not your toilet. For more information about the negative impact wipes are having on sewers, we encourage you to Google wipes and sewer. You will see flushable wipes are causing serious problems for wastewater utilities across the country. Albrey Arrington, Ph.D., is executive director of Loxahatchee River District. Bevin Beaudet, P.E., is director of Palm Beach County Water Utilities.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 13:00:08 +0000
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