NACWA Award Winner tackles the wipes challenge: Baby wipes in sewer pipes are a threat to public and environmental health and to the sustainability of shared infrastructure. Wipes don’t breakdown in water like toilet paper, not even those labelled “flushable.” Oregon’s Clackamas County Water Environment Services department (WES) provides water resource recovery and watershed protection services to over 165,000 customers in urbanizing northern Clackamas County. WES manages and operates five wastewater treatment facilities and 22 pump stations where convenience wipes clog pipes and pumps that threaten public and environmental health due to the increased risk of sanitary sewer overflows.