BLOG: "Flushable" Wipes Aren't Flushable After All

by Jennifer Wemhoff, The Groundwater Foundation

What does "flushable" truly mean? If you define it as being capable of being flushed down a toilet as "flushable" then yes, flushable wipes are indeed flushable.

Flushable wipes going through the sewer system without causing a problem? Inconceivable! I'm reminded of a scene from one of my very favorite movies:

However, just because you conceivably can flush wipes, does it mean you should flush them?

The answer is a resounding "NO."

According to wastewater experts, the only things that should get flushed are human waste and toilet paper. The rest - wipes, feminine hygiene products, tissues, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss - all belong in the trash can for disposal. Medications should also never be flushed. Wastewater treatment facilities aren't typically able to remove these compounds. Seek out local take-back options instead (like the Nebraska MEDS Initiative) or utilize DEA's National Drug Take-Back Days.

What can happen if too much other stuff is flushed down drains or toilets? A whole lotta yuck, that's what. Take this example in Charleston, South Carolina. A series of clogs from wipes required employees to work 24 hours a day for five days to clear them, and even worse, divers to go down 80-90 feet into their system through raw sewage to find the clog.

If you have a septic system, flushing these items is also a terrible idea, filling the tank faster and affecting the system's ability to effectively treat wastewater.

The City of Spokane did a series of experiments showing what happens when common items are flushed down the toilet:

So do your local wastewater utility or septic system a favor - unless it's #1, #2, or toilet paper, keep it out of the toilet!

The Carmel, Indiana (a Groundwater Guardian team) Utility also has a great educational video about improperly flushing items.

BLOG: Nebraska Wellhead Protection Network

by Sara Brock, The Groundwater Foundation

The Nebraska Wellhead Protection Network is a collaboration of the Groundwater Foundation, state agencies, local municipalities, and private organizations who are involved in protecting and conserving groundwater and drinking water sources in Nebraska. A recent meeting was held on September 26, 2018 at the Water Treatment Plant in Auburn, Nebraska. Ken Swanson, manager of Auburn’s Water and Wastewater Treatment, and Dave Hunter, general manager of Auburn Board of Public Works, hosted the 24 of us inside Auburn’s Water Treatment Plant amidst all of the pumps, filters, and equipment.

Auburn’s public water system is supplied by groundwater from the alluvial aquifer underneath the Nemaha River valley and, because of this, is classified as “Groundwater Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water” or GWUDI. Communities that utilize GWUDI as a source have to have additional methods and treatments to ensure that the water that enters the public system meets all drinking water standards. The water treatment plant one part of Auburn’s complex and proactive approach to providing clean water in their area.  Fully automated, the plant self-cleans its filters, provides treated and safe water to all of its residents, and was designed to allow for additional filtering tanks and treatment processes should water quality and quantity issues arise in the future. While the filters were turned off during the presentation portion of the meeting, Ken and several of Auburn’s water operators were able to show us how the plant performs a filter flush and backwash during the tour.

Beyond the plant, Auburn has been working closely with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to update their Wellhead Protection (WHP) Plan, including a re-drawing of the boundaries to include the Surface Water Contribution Area, encompassing a whopping 51,000 acres of land in and around Auburn. Dave’s presentation focused very passionately on the idea that groundwater and surface water protections absolutely must be integrated because “they all end up in the same bucket” and the 2017 version of the plan not only reflects this, but has also opened up Auburn’s WHP and Drinking Water Protection Management Plan (DWPMP) to new sources of funding. Auburn is the first municipality in the U.S. to utilize federal 319 funding for an integrated groundwater and surface water management plan.

The complex history and future plans of Auburn’s water system was a useful subject for many of the attendees of this meeting, including representatives from Syracuse, York, and Wilber.  These communities are in the process of developing and implementing wellhead protection and drinking water protection management plans. Talking with Ken and Dave as well as Jonathan Mohr, a senior environmental planner with JEO Consulting Group who assisted in the development of the plans, the meeting provided potential next steps and opportunities to replicate and improve upon Auburn’s WHP model.

For more information about the Nebraska Wellhead Protection Network, visit https://www.groundwater.org/action/community/newhp.html.

Protect Groundwater by Maintaining Your Septic System

by Jennifer Wemhoff, the Groundwater Foundation

With proper construction and maintenance, septic systems can be an effective way of treating wastewater for homeowners not connected to a centralized wastewater treatment system. But it's up to the homeowner to take care of the system and ensure it's not negatively impacting groundwater.

Regular Inspections. Your septic system should be inspected annually to ensure that it's working properly and if the tank needs to be pumped. Having your system inspected and pumped regularly can help you avoid the high cost of septic system failure. Find a professional septic system contractor. An inspection will locate the system, uncover the manhole and inspection ports, check connections, measure the scum and sludge layers, and check the tank and drainfield.

Keep Records. It's important to keep records of all permits, inspections, pumpings, repairs, and other maintenance. It's also a good idea to keep a sketch of where your system is located. Having this information is handy for service providers.

Protect the Drainfield. The septic system's drainfield is delicate, and needs to be protected. Don't plant anything but grass over the drainfield. Roots from shrubs and trees can cause damage. Also, don't drive, park, or operate heavy machinery over any part of the system, and don't build anything on top of the drainfield. Grass is the best cover for a drainfield.

Be Careful What You Flush. What you put into your septic system greatly affects its ability to do its job. Your septic system contains living organisms that digest and treat waste. Septic systems are not designed to be a garbage can. In the kitchen, don't put food scraps, coffee grinds, grease, cooking oils, or other food items down the drain. In the bathroom, never flush plastics, paper towels, facial tissues, tampons, sanitary napkins, cigarette butts, dental floss, disposable diapers, condoms, medications, or kitty litter in the toilet. The only things that should be flushed down the toilet are wastewater and toilet paper.

Conserve Water. Water conservation is a very important part of septic system maintenance. Continual saturation of the drainfield's soil can affect its ability to remove contaminants from wastewater. Look for and fix leaky fixtures and toilets, only wash full loads in the dish and clothes washers, and take short showers.

Find out more about how you can protect groundwater through septic system maintenance here, here, and here.

March 8-14, 2009

National Groundwater Awareness Week is March 8-14.

How do you plan to celebrate?

Prescription Drugs in Drinking Water: Guest Blog

A Guest Blogger from Sacramento, CA. writes...

"I recently heard an interview [with an employee from The Groundwater Foundation] on the radio. She repeated the mantra prevalent in the municipalities and administrative circles that cleanup of the water is impracticably expensive. The place to address the problem is with the sewage discharges, not water treatment for drinking as she seemed to imply, and I beg to differ about cost. Combine wetland treatment with reverse osmosis and you greatly lower the costs, while preventing the accumulation of drugs, nitrates, chloride and other salts in our water supplies -groundwater and surface water- in the first place. "

"The California Central Valley has perfect conditions for such a solution and a pressing need unacknowledged by the state water regulatory boards. To counter this there is also a pressing need for a cost study showing practical cost levels rather than the extreme one usually referred to which calls for reverse osmosis of the sewage discharge directly, without wetland. The state here is -- by policy -- now directing new urban sewage discharges to land over our aquifer and they will foul it in short order unless compelled or persuaded to change. Can you help?"