- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

Anything is theoretically flushable - ask a two year-old.  But just because it says it on the package, doesn't mean it's a good idea.

You may have seen some of the  images of sewer clogs from so-called "flushable" wipes and the studies that explained why.   Matt Prentice, Owen Sound's manager of water and waste water, says we have issues with “flushable” wipes in the City's sewer system.

"On occasion they will contribute to sewer backups into homes by clogging plumbing in the home or the sewer lateral pipe connecting the home to the sewer main on the street. They also can cause clogging issues in the sewer mains," says Prentice.

"One very common problem caused by these wipes is the clogging of sewage pumps at the sewage pumping stations in the City.  Staff have to respond relatively quickly to those to make sure that household sewer backups or sewer overflows do not result," he continues. "In those cases we actually have to lift the pump out of the station with the boom truck and clear the impeller. This is a time and labour consuming, expensive process and typically happens a few times a year.

"Even if the “flushable” wipes make it all the way through the sewer system to the sewage treatment plant, some portion of the wipes can end up bypassing the initial screening and clogging the pumps, tanks, or other process equipment there. Again, they don’t degrade and so they have to be removed, often by hand."

Bottom line? "These products do not degrade in the sewer the way toilet paper does. They should not be advertised as “flushable” and should not be flushed."