OKLAHOMA CITY – Sewer systems throughout Oklahoma are getting clogged with disposable disinfectant wipes flushed down toilets in increasing numbers because of the coronavirus health threat.
“They’ve cost us thousands of dollars in damages,” said Lawton Public Works Director Rusty Whisenhunt. “They’re advertised as being ‘flushable’ but they’re not allowed by our City Code.”
Baby wipes and disinfectant wipes are manufactured of a stringy fabric, and when flushed into a sewage system they “ball up and tie themselves together,” Whisenhunt said. “They’re not biodegradable and they don’t dissolve in water, like toilet paper does.”
Instead, they cause wastewater system blockages that result in sewage backups and residences to flood, he said.
“One is not a problem, but when they’re flushed into the sewer system in bulk,” that’s something else entirely, Whisenhunt said.
“Diapers are thrown into the trash container,” he noted. “Baby wipes and disinfectant wipes should be, too.”
DISPOSABLE WIPES ‘DEFINITELY A PROBLEM’
Disposable wipes are “definitely a problem” in Elgin, said retired engineer Mike Johnson, who assists the City of Elgin with its infrastructure issues. They get clogged in sewer lines and in valves in the sewage lift stations, he said.
Wipes and other disposable products “tend to catch on the impellers in aerators” that oxygenate effluent at the wastewater treatment plant, Johnson said. The “rags” also “tend to fill up the sewage treatment cells over time,” which requires “more frequent cleaning.” The wastewater treatment cells must be drained to be cleaned, he said.
In an effort to hold down maintenance costs, Elgin has its lift stations cleaned every couple of months and after heavy rains, Johnson said. A “vac truck” equipped with a 5,000-gallon tank sucks out gunk, including grease as well as disposable wipes, that has accumulated in the lift stations.
“We also have several places in town where we have to clean the grease out of the lines periodically,” Johnson said. Grease is “usually liquid when it’s poured down the drain, but it solidifies,” he noted.
ELGIN TO OPEN BIDS ON SEWAGE GRINDER
City officials are scheduled to open bids April 9 on installation of a grinder at Elgin’s wastewater treatment plant, located near the intersection of Keeney and Welch Road. The grinder will be a new piece of equipment, not a replacement unit, Johnson said. It is designed to “grind up” the effluent, “chop it up real