City reminds residents to watch what they flush

As many people use cleaning wipes and paper towels to disinfect surfaces amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of San Marcos is reminding residents to not flush those wipes down the toilet. 

Jon Clack, assistant director of Public Services, Water/Wastewater Utilities, said the city’s collection system recently had a small sewer overflow because of a problem caused by wipes and paper towels. 

“When all those wipes enter our sewer pipes, lift stations and eventually the plant, they can create significant clogs and backups,” Clack said. “The materials in most wipes don’t disintegrate in water the same way as toilet paper.” 

According to the city, flushing wipes and paper towels can create expensive plumbing problems for home and business owners and the community. Wipes clump together and attract other materials to them, creating what is called “fatbergs” — a term used by industry experts, according to the city. These “fatbergs” get stuck in pipes and sewer systems. 

Clack tells residents to toss the wipes, whether they’re diaper, cleaning, make-up removal or personal care, in the trash to prevent any possible problems. 

“Toilets are not trash cans, which is the slogan from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies,” Clack said. “This is really a global issue as plants around the country and the world are being inundated by wipes.”

Clack added that flushing these wipes isn’t the problem, however, when thousands or hundreds of thousands of wipes are flushed and don’t disintegrate, it becomes an issue. 

Clack said wastewater collection systems and treatment plants aren’t built to handle wipes. 

“Clogs from wipes can overwhelm a wastewater system and lead to major blockages that can also lead to major damage, costly repairs, health and environmental issues,” he said.

The U.S. spends between $500 million-$1 billion annually trying to unclog pipes and other underground equipment, according to the International Water Services Flushability Group.