Veolia Water operates both wastewater plants for the City of Junction City. City Manager Allen Dinkel said that they continue to have issues with items being flushed that cause problems at the plant.
Dustin Lingenfelter of Veolia provided information:
"Our wastewater treatment system is receiving an increased volume of non-flushable items such as baby wipes, wet wipes and paper towels. All of these materials place undue stress on wastewater treatment facilities, which are not designed to receive them. While the so-called “flushable” wipes concern is not new to wastewater facilities, we have noticed an upward trend of them reaching the wastewater plants. We ask that our community members pay extra attention to what they are using and remind you not to flush anything other than toilet paper down the toilet.
It is important to keep in mind that flushing anything other than toilet paper can create expensive problems for homeowners and your local publicly funded facilities. Flushing wipes (even those labeled “flushable”) and other non-toilet paper materials causes clogs, backups, equipment and pipe breakages, and can even force raw sewage back into peoples’ homes. Because we are a public utility, the cost to repair these damages is unfortunately borne by the taxpayers. We want to avoid any and all of these problems and allow our facility workers to focus on their jobs to keep our facility performing at the highest level to return properly treated water back to our local environment.
Properly addressing this issue requires each of us to be extra mindful. We ask that you pay close attention to what is being used in your home, and make sure you are only flushing toilet paper and properly disposing of all other materials. Please remember, anything other than toilet paper should be tossed in your wastebasket."
The following products are NOT flushable and must be disposed of in a waste basket:
● Paper towels
● Napkins
● Kleenex and other tissues
● Wet wipes/baby wipes
(Even those labeled as “flushable” wipes)
● Diapers
● Feminine hygiene products
● Gauze/Band-Aids
GREASE: Along with not flushing the above listed items, Veolia also strongly recommend not rinsing grease down your sinks as it can/will coagulate and solidify around the impeller on your grinder pump resulting in, at a minimum, diminished pumping capacity or even worse, total failure.