Water Sector News
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Department of Environmental Protection reminding NYC residents of what can and cannot be flushed down toilets
Jul 15, 2022
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/department-of-environmental-protection-reminding-nyc-residents-of-what-can-and-cannot-be-flushed-down-toilets/
NEW YORK -- Overwhelmed with extra trash being flushed into the system, the Department of Environmental Protection is urging New Yorkers to properly dispose of waste and chemicals.
It's an expensive problem that taxpayers are paying for.
CBS2's Alecia Reid took a tour of the Newtown Creek facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on Thursday to see how it all works.
Waste could take a month or more to break down, but the wastewater treatment plant does the job within a matter of hours. However, there are factors, like trash, clogging the system.
"It gets so bad sometimes that it causes a backup of sewage in the system and that's bad because it can flood a neighborhood," said Pam Elardo, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Wastewater Management.