Keep the Wipes Out

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Baby wipes in our community’s sewer pipes are a threat to public and environmental health and to the sustainability of our shared infrastructure. It’s a fact that wipes don’t breakdown in water like toilet paper, not even those labelled “flushable.” Clackamas County’s Water Environment Services department (WES) provides water resource recovery and watershed protection services to over 165,000 customers in urbanizing northern Clackamas County. WES manages and operates five wastewater treatment facilities and 22 pump stations where convenience wipes clog pipes and pumps that threaten public and environmental health due to the increased risk of sanitary sewer overflows. Keep the Wipes Out! accomplishes the following: • Protects water quality within the service district for public and environmental health • Educates community about behaviors that impact watershed health, water quality and sustainable infrastructure • Upgrades working conditions of WES staff by reducing health risks due to hand-removal of wipe-caused clogs from pumps • Promotes intergovernmental cooperation and coordination in addressing shared problems Keeps the Wipes Out! resulted in the collaboration of local and national partners in an effort to educate the public, especially new parents, about sewage backups caused by the unnecessary flushing of wipes and other clog-inducing products down the toilet.