On Jan. 25, Hiram Tanner, the former manager of sewer pumping for DC Water, wrote in the Washington Examiner that it’s, “Time to flush DC’s ban on flushable wipes.” Although I appreciate Tanner’s perspective, coming from someone I know and like, I disagree completely with his conclusions: I fully support the legislation recently passed by the city council and signed into law by Mayor Muriel Bowser regulating the sale of flushable wipes.
I agree with Tanner that infrastructure needs are a major concern here in Washington. Many of our sewers are old and need repairs and upgrades. At DC Water, we’re working hard to do just that. As we continue to invest time and money to improve our sewer systems, it’s important that our customers help to make sure the system runs smoothly and maintains as much capacity as possible. Sewer systems are designed to handle only the “3 Ps”: pee, poop, and (toilet) paper. When other materials end up in the sewer, they cause expensive problems.
While it’s true that other things contribute to clogs in our sewers (such as grease, cleaning wipes, and facial tissue) there is one major distinction that needs to be made: None of those items are labeled as flushable. So-called “flushable wipes” are the only product labeled as flushable, but they actually aren’t.
These wipes don’t break down as they pass through our sewer system.
Instead, a wipe that is flushed down the toilet will be almost completely intact when it reaches the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, if it reaches it at all. Many times, wipes clog residential plumbing pipes, get trapped with grease-forming fatbergs, wrap around our pumps causing them to fail, or get stuck in our screens causing maintenance problems and unnecessary repairs that our customers ultimately have to pay for on their sewer bills. These wipes must be removed by DC Water workers, placing them at increased risk of injury and illness.
In his op-ed, Tanner writes, “Last year, a New York City-commissioned study found that only 2 percent of the contents of Fatbergs came from flushable wipes, most of that barely identifiable.” However, this number is taken from a single collections study in New York City, using a very small sample of wipes taken at one time, right after a major storm had likely flushed out that city’s combined sewer system. The study did not include the contents of any fatbergs. Other reputable studies actually show a higher percentage of flushable wipes in sewer systems.
Tanner also claims we should allow the industry to self-regulate. However, it’s been proven that self-regulation by the wipes industry doesn’t work. INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, created their own standard years ago. Unfortunately, that standard was not agreed upon by anyone in the wastewater industry and does not meet a real definition of flushable. In fact, the wipes that claim to meet this standard stay fully intact after 30 minutes of traveling through the sewer system causing blockages, pump failures, and sewer overflows.
DC Water and more than 200 utilities worldwide signed onto a uniform and accurate definition for flushability. This definition is the basis of the city council’s legislation regulating flushable wipes. While most wipes sold in the United States do not meet this standard, wipes that are actually flushable do exist, but only overseas. By passing this legislation, wipe manufacturers in the U.S. will be encouraged to keep up with technology and change their manufacturing processes to make wipes that actually meet their claim of being flushable if they want to be sold as such.
It is important to note that this legislation does not ban the sale of all wipes. It just means that wipes that aren’t actually flushable must have a label that says “do not flush.”
It’s time the wipes industry does the right thing and either sells wipes that are actually flushable or be honest in how they are advertised. Change can be difficult, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done, especially if it’s in the best interest of DC Water customers and employees.
In this case, all it takes is a label.
George Hawkins (@GeorgeHawkinsDC) is CEO and general manager of DC Water.
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