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Chatham

"Flushable" wipes wreak havoc on CK sewers

So-called flushable wipes continue to cause issues within the sewer systems across Chatham-Kent.

The personal wet wipes are marketed as being safe to flush down toilets. However, General Manager of Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission Tim Sunderland, said the label of being flushable is misleading.

"They're marketed as being flushable. They will degrade over time but what we're finding is it takes quite a lot longer time than expected," he explained. "They end up in the pumping, the pipes and the pumps for us and they cause clogs and backups."

According to Sunderland, over the past week alone, there have been three incidents attributed to flushable wipes in Chatham-Kent.

"The public works department, they do a lot of our sewer blockages, they have been experiencing a few of these over the last few weeks," he said.

One of those incidents occurred in a brand new neighbourhood. According to Sunderland, this resulted in sewage backups for four homes and cost a significant amount in repair fees.

"Part of the problem is if they find a blockage in a pipe then staff have to go out and clear the block...So there's manpower in overtime or usually after hours," Sunderland explained. "Along with that, the backup causes potential backups to other residential homes in the area. If the block is not in the pipe, they can end up in our pump station...then cause the same issues of manpower, time and effort spent on unclogging the pipes."

Sunderland said because the wipes are marketed as being flushable, residents just assume it's safe to flush them down the toilet. However, he recommends that people opt to toss the wipes in the trash instead.

Sunderland added that there are several other culprits that result in clogged municipal pipes because people are incorrectly disposing of them down the toilet including cat litter, diapers, dental floss and grease.

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