MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis sewer lines have a new enemy: the wet wipe.
The household item, commonly known for changing diapers, is said to now be gaining popularity with adults.
Although, many manufacturers claimed they’re flushable, waste water treatment workers said they don’t break down like toilet paper, and clogging pipes and breaking equipment.
What’s even worse, grease sticks to them creating indestructible balls.
“It gets bigger and bigger, and then you have blockages, and it results in problems,” said Paul Patterson with Memphis Public Works.
Patterson said crews spend most of the time unclogging pipes.
“Out of 2,600 miles of sewer line, we have crews that work every day. That’s their job,” he said.
In fact, the problem got so bad, Public Works flushed $4 million into a machine at the South Memphis waste water treatment plant.
It filtered the wipes before they ruined any equipment.
Plant Manager Mike Bower said it was working.
“We have removed over 90% of the fibrous materials this way,” said Bower.
Robert Geisenhoff said he has been a plumber in the Mid-South nearly twenty years, and he has never seen a wet wipe dissolve.
He said they cause a lot of damage too.
“They take a lot longer to break down than paper. It’s not an overnight thing. Weeks even,” he said.
Right now, Patterson said the city budgets $15 million for waste water treatment, and a chunk of your tax dollars was spent on the wet wipe problem.
The good news, it could be wiped out.
“It will cut that budget number down,” said Patterson.
In the meantime, Public Works said you need to read the labels of your wet wipes, and make sure they say flushable.