Tag Archives: Nondispersibles

Wipes in Pipes Cause Costly Problems for Water Resource Recovery Facilities

January 28, 2014

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Flushables - Featured Image

Many wastewater treatment professionals agree that clogged pipes can cause big and costly problems. As these problems arise, Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) members are documenting costs spent on maintenance and repairs and are working to identify culprits. Clogs from items that do not belong in water resource recovery facility (WRRF) flows are not […]

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Tackling the Wipes in the Pipes WEF-wide

October 16, 2013

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In late July, Thames Water (London) reported that it had removed a 15-ton "fatberg" made of fat mixed with wet wipes from a London sewer. Photo courtesy of Thames Water.

The packages of wet wipes that have continued to populate store shelves nationwide during the past few years also are accumulating elsewhere — both in collection systems and outreach efforts by the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.). Through its outreach efforts, conferences, and magazines, WEF is helping raise awareness on how wet wipes can […]

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Stop, Don’t Flush That

June 12, 2013

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Robert Villée, Plainfield Area Regional Sewerage Authority (Middlesex, N.J.) executive director, worked with authority staff to test flushable-product claims using this system. Photo courtesy of Villée.

WEF members work to solve nondispersibles problem   Wastewater treatment systems operate 24-hours a day, 7-days a week — that is, until an item that doesn’t belong makes its way into the system, clogging pipes and causing headaches for operators. Defining nondispersibles Perpetrators mucking up the system are known as “nondispersibles,” which currently means anything […]

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