Prevent Sewer Backups

More often than not, the cause of a backup in your sewer lateral is from items that the line is not meant to handle, such as kid's toys, towels, diapers, paper products (other than toilet paper), keys and even false teeth. To avoid flushing these items, remember to close the toilet lid. What you flush down your toilet may not affect you, but it might cause problems for your neighbors! Another possible cause would be roots in your lateral. Remember, the sewer lateral is the responsibility of the owner of the property from the house to the street.

Ways to Prevent Backups in your Lateral and in the City Sewer Main

The property owner can do many things to prevent his/her sewer lateral from backing up. Remember too, that the very same things can help to prevent backups in the main city sewer line as well. If everyone would be careful about the ways they disposed of certain products, our systems would be more efficient, cause fewer backups, cost less money, and prevent the inconvenience to you.

• Grease:
  Cooking oil should be poured into a heat-resistant container and disposed of, after it cools off, in the garbage can, not the drain. Some people assume that washing grease down the drain with hot water is satisfactory. This grease goes down the drain, cools off, and solidifies either in the drain, the property owner's sewer lateral, or in the main city sewer. When this happens, the lateral constricts, and eventually clogs.
• Paper Products:
  Paper towels, disposable (and cloth) diapers, and feminine products cause a great deal of problems in the property owner's line as well as in the main City sewer. These products do not deteriorate quickly. They become lodged in portions of the lateral where there is an accumulation of any type of debris, and dam up the line, causing sewer backup. These products should be composted or disposed of in the garbage.
• Roots
  Shrubs and trees, seeking moisture, will make their way into sewer lateral cracks. These roots can do a lot of damage. They may start out small, getting into a small crack in the pipe; but as the tree or shrub continues to grow, so does the root. This obviously, after time goes on, causes your sewer lateral to break, which in turn allows debris to hang up in the sewer lateral, thus causing a backup. Please be careful about planting greenery around you sewer lateral.
• Needles:
  It has come to our attention that some people dispose of hypodermic needles into the sewer system. The presence of these needles in the wastewater collection system presents special and possible harmful problems for the wastewater collection and wastewater treatment employees. Please DO NOT flush needles. The proper method of disposal is to re-cap the needle and put it into a "sharps container". (This could be any rigid plastic container such as a Clorox bottle or coffee can)
• Options for Disposal:
  
  
  • Kingston Area Recycling Centre on Lappan's Lane offers a disposal service between the months of April and November, Thursdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. or the 2nd Saturday of the month 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Phone 546-8523 to confirm these days and times.
  • Some area pharmacies offer a disposal program; please call your local pharmacy for advice on proper disposal methods.