Flush the T.P., But NOT the Wipes!

ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) — Disposable sanitary wipes that don't break apart are plugging up a sewer system in an eastern Iowa city and in other communities around the country.

The wipes are clogging pumps at underground lift stations in Anamosa. The stations keep sewage from low-lying areas flowing to the treatment plant.

City administrator Alan Johnson says there have been eight or nine clogs since the first of the year.

Cleaning out the pumps or replacing them can cost thousands of dollars, a problem familiar to officials elsewhere. For example, the city of Wyoming, Minnesota, has sued six makers of the wipes. The city says the wipes stay intact long enough to pass into sewer lines and wastewater treatment plants, causing expensive damage.