One daily action most often taken for granted is flushing the toilet. Where does the water go when we flush? How many miles of pipe does wastewater travel before reaching the treatment plant? How is wastewater treated to become an acceptable effluent for discharge into a receiving water? We typically don’t think about these things while in the bathroom.
Flushing the wrong things down the toilet can have unintended consequences including increased cost of treatment to offset repairs.
Here are some tips for toilet users to help keep things flowing smoothly:
1. Flushing expired or unused medication down the toilet can have unintended consequences as most wastewater treatment is not designed to fully breakdown pharmaceuticals. There has been a lot of attention given to studies over the last decade as to the effect of residual chemicals from pharmaceuticals chemicals on aquatic life, not to mention the fact that low levels of organic wastewater constituents have been found in drinking water treatment facilities. Some communities even have drop-off days for unused medication. In fact, Kentucky has 149 permanent prescription drug disposal locations in 97 counties (http://governor.ky.gov/Documents/KyPermanentRxDisposalSites.pdf). Jefferson County does not have a permanent drug disposal location and I am not sure why.
2. Wipes labeled as “flushable” really aren’t very flushable; the fabric breakdown capability is hit-and-miss. In an attempt to educate the general public, some communities use slogans like “Keep the wipes out of the pipes!” to help grab the attention of the general public. Even though flushable wipes have received a lot of negative attention lately as a culprit for clogging pumps, the worst offender is probably baby wipes. Baby wipes have never been manufactured to be flushable, but the pre-moistened “flushable” personal hygiene wipes look very similar to baby wipes AND the cheaper price of baby wipes increased consumer purchase but for the intentional use of personal hygiene and not for wiping baby bottoms. Manufacturers have been approached to help provide a solution and design baby wipes to be “flushable”; however, the end result is likely to drive up the cost of baby wipes much to the chagrin of young mothers everywhere. And of course, do not flush diapers down the toilet either.
3. A reminder to those who have kitty cats: Do not flush kitty litter down the toilet. A clay material is a typical component for kitty litter and eventually it will harden like cement after mixing it with water – a recipe for a pipe clog!