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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Popular Bathroom Wipes Blamed for Sewer Clogs |
| 2013-09-24 |
| [WASHINGTON.CBSLOCAL] Increasingly popular bathroom wipes -- pre-moistened towelettes that are often advertised as flushable -- are being blamed for creating clogs and backups in sewer systems around the nation. We were talking about this just the other day... Wastewater authorities say wipes may go down the toilet, but even many labeled flushable aren't breaking down as they course through the sewer system. That's costing some municipalities millions of dollars to dispatch crews to unclog pipes and pumps and to replace and upgrade machinery. The problem got so bad in this western New York community this summer that sewer officials set up traps -- basket strainers in sections of pipe leading to an oft-clogged pump -- to figure out which households the wipes were coming from. They mailed letters and then pleaded in person for residents to stop flushing them. "We could walk right up, knock on the door and say, 'Listen, this problem is coming right from your house,'" said Tom Walsh, senior project coordinator at South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts, which was dispatching crews at least once a week to clear a grinder pump that would seize up trying to shred the fibrous wipes. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies, which represents 300 wastewater agencies, says it has been hearing complaints about wipes from sewer systems big and small for about the past four years. That roughly coincides with the ramped-up marketing of the "flushable cleansing cloths" as a cleaner, fresher option than dry toilet paper alone. A trade group says wipes are a $6 billion-a-year industry, with sales of consumer wipes increasing nearly 5 percent a year since 2007 and expected to grow at a rate of 6 percent annually for the next five years. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 The idiocy reach epic levels...you flush rags, you have consequences, a plugged sewer...all they have to do is disconnected the imbecilic retards! Why...next "they" will flush their minced up wives including the burkas... |
| Posted by: Herb Gloluger9960 2013-09-24 23:41 |
| #7 Good to know nobody will be knocking on my door. I have a septic tank. (Wish I had sewer, though.) |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-09-24 19:05 |
| #6 Yes. Latest report is that usage by Raiders fan is up four fold from yesterday. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2013-09-24 14:09 |
| #5 Didn't we post a statement on "Sports Wipes" yesterday? That kills that idea, dead in it's tracks. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-09-24 13:20 |
| #4 Wipes don't kill pumps, people kill pumps. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-09-24 08:44 |
| #3 ..but, but, where would jobs be for the Councilman's or Alderman's nephew or cousin? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-09-24 08:39 |
| #2 Why not just leave the traps in place and catch all the evil wipes? Oh, some warm body would have to remove the collection every once in a while. This is just another reminder your sewer company needs more of your tax dollars. Besides, what else do the crews do besides wait to be dispatched to clear the pumps? Play cards? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2013-09-24 06:30 |
| #1 sewer officials set up traps Great, now they're monitoring my $hit. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2013-09-24 01:17 |