SEWER LINE AWARENESS

WHAT YOU FLUSH MATTERS

Sewer backups into your home, business, or neighborhood are not only gross, they can be hazardous to your health and expensive to clean up.

Flushing the wrong things down the toilet can:
Clog your toilet or pipes and cause a sewage backup into your home or building.
Cause sewer blockages that result in sewage flowing into a street or the environment.
Harm people, fish, or wildlife.
Damage the sewer system and wastewater treatment plant.

Flush only the three Ps – Pee, Poop, and toilet-Paper.

FLUSHABLE WIPES CAN CLOG YOUR PIPES AND OURS

Wipes of all kinds — cleaning, antibacterial, facial, baby, whatever type — can block your pipes.

Even wipes that are marketed as "flushable" aren’t flushable and can clog the sewer. Watch this video on YouTube from the City of Spokane on the Water Environment Federation's channel to see how these materials don’t breakdown when flushed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLTVqkXVvNk

Avoid blockages: Don't flush these items

Never flush the following items down the toilet or pour them down a drain because they can block sewer pipes and cause sewer backups to your home or the street. Only flush the 3 P's.

Baby wipes or other types of wipes—even if labeled or marketed as “flushable”
Paper towels
Mini or maxi pads, panty liners, or any sanitary napkin
Tampons and tampon applicators
Diapers - cloth or disposable
Bras/underwear
Fats, Oils or grease (cooking) Can it-Cool it-Trash it
Motor oil - auto fluids
Coffee grounds
Bandages and bandage wrappings
Condoms
Cotton balls and swabs
Contact lenses
Dental floss and dental picks
Disposable gloves
Facial tissue
Face masks
dog-poop bags (empty or full)
Cat litter— even if labeled or marketed as “flushable”
Medication (check take-backs at Safe Drug Disposal - Oregon )
Paint, solvents, thinners (check Columbia County Transer Station )
Yard chemicals, weed killer or fertilizers
Poisons or hazardous waste

** ITS A TOILET NOT A TRASH CAN**

WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

Most wastewater treatment plants like ours are not designed to remove plastic materials like contact lenses , Q-tips or other small items, or grease and chemicals etc. When these types of substances enter the sewer treatment process, they can clog our pumps, harm city workers, delay or damage the treatment plant processes and pollute our rivers and streams causing harm to our fish and wildlife.

Wastewater Treatment Plants play a crucial role in purifying sewage and/or wastewater, ensuring that it is safe to return to our environment.