You’ve probably heard that paper towels shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet, but what about sanitary wipes, rope, or plastic gloves?
These are but a few of the items that Mansfield and Pontefract’s director general Eric Rochon said have been found in the municipal sewage system over the years, but he said the improper disposal needs to stop.
The municipality’s office issued a public announcement on Dec. 30 advising users of the system which items should and should not be flushed down toilets or sinks.
“Under no circumstances should you dispose of items such as sanitary towels, tampons, wipes, gloves or any other items that could block the sewage system,” read the release, noting residents who were found to disobey this directive could face serious fines.
Over a week earlier, the municipality’s system experienced a blockage, leaving it, according to the release, “in critical condition,” representing an “imminent danger of failure.” Weeks later, the system is still only operating with one functional pump.
Rochon explained the improper disposal of these items can have some serious impacts on the sewer’s infrastructure. Ordinarily, he said, the waste goes through one of two transfer pumps that funnel it toward a treatment plant, but with a blockage in one pipe, the other one is working overtime.
“Normally it’s just the one pump that’s working and it alternates between one and the other so it wears evenly,” Rochon said. “But right now, there’s only one that’s trying to keep up, but it’s in bad shape right now.”
He said this isn’t the first time the municipality has had to ask residents to watch what they flush, since the mistakes put a lot of stress on the already-aging pipes.
“Through the years, we’ve been asking people not to throw any wipes or debris in the sewer system, but lately it’s been getting worse,” Rochon said. “Our equipment is getting older also.”
The municipality is looking into solutions, which could involve replacing the entire system, which is around 50 years old.
Rochon said if the second transfer pipe goes down, they’ll have to hire trucks to come in and relocate the sewage, which would cost the municipality a lot of money. Mansfield is working to replace the faulty pump, but due to delivery and installation delays the problem could persist.
Jessica Nilsson, director of water management for Campbell’s Bay, has been facing similar issues in her town’s sewage system for years, and said people need to be more careful about what items they flush away.
“The wipes and the cooking grease and the hygiene products, they block mostly the pumps at the pumping station,” she said, noting that while the Campbell’s Bay system is currently running property, the municipality did have a blockage last week.
“It seems like it’s one of those things that I think people do out of convenience and maybe don’t realize how harmful it could be to a sewage system,” she said, adding that only toilet paper and waste should go down the drain.
“The system will need more frequent maintenance which costs money and resources,” Nilsson said. “It can cause environmental damage as well if it’s leaking bad things when a pumping station isn’t working.”
“Flushable wipes aren’t flushable!” Nilsson said, as a catchy reminder to all to be careful of what is put down the drain, even when packaging says it is harmless.
