Water Sector News
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Wipes damage costs city
During its Nov. 13 meeting, the Port Lavaca City Council approved the payment of $29,690 to Hahn Equipment for the repair of the city’s main lift station pump due to damage caused by flushable wipes.
According to Public Works Director Wayne Shaffer, the pump repairs are only the latest of several issues caused by the ongoing problem of non-flushable objects being flushed down toilets. The wipes, which are presented as flushable by packaging, block sewer pipes and can rag up inside of pumps, causing excessive stress on the machinery and necessitating faster replacement.
“We had to call Hahn Equipment in because we discovered that the pump was ragged up since we were getting thermal overloads from the pump. When we pulled it up, we discovered that it was the pump itself that was locked up. The bearings had failed,” Shaffer said. “We have a terrible, terrible rag problem. Flushable wipes do not disintegrate, and they plug up pumps, which leads to this problem.