Water Sector News
A snapshot of clean water stories from publications around the country, updated daily!
Life during COVID: Toss, wipe, water
Looking back on 2020, it’s clear that people in Concord did three things when the pandemic hit: Threw stuff out, watered the lawn and wiped down surfaces in their homes. Lots and lots of surfaces.
“Oh yes, we’ve seen a fair amount more of the flushable wipes,” said Daniel Driscoll, superintendent of the Concord wastewater treatment plant. The city’s sewer system hasn’t seen any of the system-clogging masses called “fatbergs” caused by stuck-at-home people flushing too many of the wrong things – especially grease and fats poured down the sink by novice cooks, hence the term – but that doesn’t mean it’s been clear sailing.
“Even though we can move (the wipes) through the system and can handle them, they still cause problems,” said Driscoll. No matter what the product label says, he’d prefer that you threw out wipes and other “flushable” items rather than putting them into the sewer system.