The Sauk Rapid’s Utilities Department is urging residents not to flush disposable sanitary wipes into the city’s sanitary sewer system.
Some packages of wipes, sometimes known as “Baby Wipes,” claim the wipes are “flushable.” Which is true – they can be flushed down a toilet, but the trouble happens later, when the wipes clog various parts of the sewage system. Unlike toilet tissue, the wipes do not quickly disintegrate into manageable pulp.
The wipes can get stuck at pumps in the city’s lift stations and can also block city and private sewer lines.
The Sauk Rapid’s Utilities Department sometimes receives calls 24 hours a day because of problems caused by the wipes. Responding to resolve the problems increases the costs of maintenance, causing water-rate charges to increase to cover the costs.
On the Sauk Rapids City website there is a short video showing how such wipes do not break apart or disintegrate in a swirling mass of water, unlike toilet tissue that falls apart almost instantly in the same tank of agitated water. Such wipes may eventually disintegrate, with time, but not fast enough to avoid problems in sewage systems.
Residents are being asked to dispose of the wipes by wrapping them in bags and placing them in the garbage, not flushed down the toilet.
Anyone with questions can call Sauk Rapids Director of Utilities Craig Nelson.
