Recently, there have been multiple incidences of costly snarls in the pipes and pumps of sewer systems within the City of Janesville’s Wastewater Utility Collection systems. These are mainly due to common wet wipes and other non-flushable items that citizens put down drains and toilets. Although many types of bathroom products are advertised as being flushable, they do not break down in the sewer system. Instead, they cling to materials such as grease or other debris and cause large stoppages to occur. Many times, these blockages must be manually removed either directly from the sewer lines or at a wastewater treatment plant.
Impacts of non-flushable products entering sewer systems can remain undetected and cause large breaks in sewer mains or backups into homes. These repairs can be highly costly. The Janesville Wastewater Treatment Plant is seeing increases in these blockages caused by wipes and other non-flushable materials. These blockages could become an expensive problem to manage if they continue.
