'Flushable' baby wipes aren’t, city warns

<p>City wastewater officials say a trend of baby wipes clogging sewer systems is happening in Petaluma, too.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The problem is caused when the wipes, which are sometimes marketed as being “flushable,” are flushed down toilets and into the city’s sewer system, the water department said.</p><p>The wipes travel through sewer pipes to the city’s primary pump station, where they form a giant glob that blocks sewage from flowing to the treatment plant, said Mike Ban, the city’s director of water resources and conservation.</p><p>“It begins to slow down and gum up the works,” Ban said. “All the wastewater in the city makes its way to that pump station.”</p><p>Similar problems are happening in sewer systems elsewhere, compounded by the fact that consumers are led to believe the wipes can be flushed down the toilet.</p><p>“The manufacturers are doing a disservice by stating that these wipes are flushable,” he said.</p><p>Local plumbers have told the water department that the wipes can also back up toilets in homes, he added.</p><p>— Argus-Courier</p>