The City of Lawton Needs Our Help with the Sewer System

The City of Lawton is needing our help with the sewer system. What kind of help are they needing? Well, recently the city has been battling clogs and serious damage done to the sewer system by people flushing wipes, paper towels and other objects down the toilet. What they're asking is that you only flush waste and toilet paper, nothing else. Since the pandemic began there's been issues with people flushing wipes. Even the ones that say they're flush-able really aren't. They end up clogging the sewer and creating all kinds of problems. Another issue is tree roots and open or missing sewer clean-out caps.  

According to the press release below these clogs that have been caused by non-biodegradable solids have cost the city and tax payers around $137,000. The city asks that you be mindful of what you're flushing down the toilet. There's a gallery below that has pictures of some of the recent clogs, called "fatbergs," that the city has had to remove from the sewer and waste water lines. Not only were there wipes, but razor blades, syringes and all kinds of other things that people have been flushing down the toilet. See the official press release form the City of Lawton below for more information:    

Along with the press release the city has provided pictures that show how flushing non-biodegradable items down the toilet creates clogs and "fatbergs." There's also a brief statement from the Chief Chemist at the Lawton Waste Water Treatment plant.

The Chief Chemist at the City of Lawton Wastewater Treatment Plant shared photos taken this week at the facility.

"We are currently auto-sampling from the manhole which brings domestic and industrial wastewater to our facility through a 60-inch line. We had to clean the sampling hose due to a build-up of debris," she said. "Not only does this (type of build up) cause damage to our wastewater collection system and our treatment plant, ultimately costing taxpayers money; this can be a dangerous situation for employees in these divisions, as dangerous items such as hypodermic syringes and razor blades, can be caught up in these masses, causing unnecessary and serious injuries."

Pictured is about 60 pounds of mostly grease and baby wipes – the most common contents of a "fatberg." A fatberg is a rock-like mass of waste matter in a sewer system formed by the combination of flushed non-biodegradable solids, such as wet wipes, and congealed grease or cooking fat. The Wastewater Collection Division recently reported that the cleanup of issues caused by the flushing of wipes and associated non-biodegradable solids have cost taxpayers in the City of Lawton more than $137,000 in the past year alone. See all the sewer "fatberg" pictures in the gallery below: