Flomaton residents flushing paper towels, rags, wipes down toilet burn up $8,000 sewer pump
Warning signs issued after sewage spills
The town of Flomaton, like many other municipalities, are spending time, money and effort to unclog sewer lines and sewer pumps that are being clogged and damaged by people flushing items other than toilet paper down the toilet.
Flomaton Utilities Superintendent Shaun Moye said since last week the town has had three major issues that have forced employees to work until the early morning hours. He also said the town has had to report three sanitary sewer overflows to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Alabama Health Department. He said in each case, employees had to work overtime to clean up the spills, sanitize the area and post signs showing the contamination.
The culprit?
"Rags, paper towels, wipes, shirts and just about anything you can imagine," Moye said.
He said some rags got stuck in one of the check valves at a sewer lift station which caused the motor to burn up.
Moye said the town was able to rent a pump to bypass the problem, but said the town is looking at having to spend $7,000 to $8,000 to purchase a new pump.
He said the town also had a main sewer line back up that was full of rags and wipes. Although the main problems occur at the pumping stations, Moye said the excess of wipes and rags will also clog sewer lines.
"We're spending a lot of time and money to fix these problems and will be spending more money down the road," Moye said.
Moye brought the issue up a few weeks ago at a town council meeting, saying other municipalities were already having similar problems.
"The only thing, other than human waste, that should go down a toilet is toilet paper," Moye said.
He noted toilet paper is designed to disintegrate in the water and won't clog lines or get stuck in sewer pumps.
"Please don't use wipes," Moye said. "They may say they are flushable and they will flush down your toilet, but they can cause problems down the line."
