Alabama Utilities Blame ‘Disposable Wipes’ For Clogged Pipes

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MOBILE, Alabama (AP) Alabama utility operators are trying to dissuade residents of the state from believing the claims of the disposable wipes, asking people not to flush them down the toilet.

Utilities accuse the wipes of clogging pipes and causing raw sewage overflows.

There is no disposable wipe. There were never any disposable wipes in the toilet flush, Jessica Walker, spokesperson for the Town of Fairhope, which operates its own municipal sewer system, told AL.com.

Products used in the country have increased over the past decade and have become even more popular during the coronavirus pandemic. But utilities say the wipes freeze with grease and other cooking fats that are also incorrectly sent down sewer systems, creating a combination of waste that clogs pumps and pipes and becomes a major cause of sewer backup and overflow in waterways.

A report by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies last year estimated that the wipes cause $ 441 million in additional operational costs for sanitation services nationwide each year, according to AL.com.

In Alabama, utility operators continually divert their workforce to cleaning out clogged pumps, and wipes are often blamed. Some utility operators say the effort leads to higher expenses which are often passed on to the consumer in the form of higher sewer and water bills.

It’s an industry-wide problem for the utilities, said Samantha Coppels, of Daphne Utilities.

Alabama utility operators rely on brochures, banners and bill inserts to educate the public.

In Alexander City, sewer manager John McWhorter said education and an aggressive preventive maintenance program had helped reduce sanitary sewer overflows in the Tallapoosa County town of 14,800.

Mark Berte, executive director of the Alabama Coastal Foundation that oversees the Utilities United initiative which includes 20 water and sewer services in southern Alabama, told AL.com that education on wipes disposables would continue to be the primary focus of his organization. He said the goal was to convince enough people to forgo purchasing disposable wipes so that there would be less demand for the products.

We were trying to educate the people of this state not to spend money on disposable wipes because they cost a lot more in the long run, Berte said. If no one buys them, they won’t sell them anymore. Toilet paper is the only thing that should go in the toilet.

A class action lawsuit has been filed in South Carolina to ban the wipes from being marketed as disposable or safe for a sewer system until the companies that make and sell the products can prove they are disintegrating as normal toilet paper.

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