Watch what you send down the drain to avoid a fatberg attack
Rick Shrum/Observer-Reporter
Pennsylvania American’s Heather DuBose and Matt Macek discuss impacts improper disposal of wastes can have on water.
Courtesy Pennsylvania American Water Co.
A fatberg could result from sending fats, oil and grease down your drain.
Rick Shrum/Observer-Reporter
A floe of grease is evident during the clarification process at the Claysville facility.
Rick Shrum/Observer-Reporter
Mini-fatbergs gather during the clarification process at the Claysville facility.
It is a quandary that has most consumers in a fog.
“Never put fat, oils or grease down the drain,” advised Heather DuBose, external affairs specialist for Pennsylvania American Water Co.’s Western District. And the accent was definitively on “never.”
Fat, oils and grease – elements of the acronym FOG – are threats to interior pipes, sewer systems, wastewater treatment facilities and, ultimately, the environment. They can gather in pipes and grow into disgusting globs called “fatbergs,” which could clog your plumbing and diminish your checkbook.
Pitch that nasty stuff in an efficient manner, to be explained later.
“Over years, oil, fat and grease will continue to adhere to the pipes. A three-inch pipe could be down to one inch and greatly reduce the flow,” said Matt Macek, supervisor of PAWC’s McMurray District. He addressed the issue Friday afternoon at the Claysville wastewater treatment facility off Route 231, while accompanied by DuBose; Dan Haught, project manager/engineering and plant manager Jay Hickman.
The plant, built in 1984, serves about 500 customers in Claysville and part of Donegal Township. It has a treatment capacity of about 100,000 gallons a day.
FOG continues to enshroud the company, which is striving to publicize the evils of improper disposing. Thus the mini-tour for the media.
Although FOG and fatbergs are perpetual challenges for water companies and water authorities, they are potentially major issues during the holiday season, when larger quantities of turkey, gravy, ham, stuffing, cookies and the occasional Christmas goose are prepared. (Imagine the mess if figgy pudding were still in vogue.) And when it’s time to dispose of the disposable parts, it’s convenient to pitch them down the disposer or drain.
Only, the FOG elements don’t really disappear or disperse, even if you follow the old bromide to send the stuff down with hot water.
“Most consumers don’t think about it because it doesn’t affect them,” said Macek, a Houston resident.
“What’s the saying, ‘Out of sight, out of mind,'” DuBose said.
Adding to the problem are those innocuously and inaccurately named disposable wipes.
“They’re not flushable wipes even though the package says they are,” DuBose said. “They don’t break down in our system.”
Wipes and FOG items don’t break down in septic tanks, either. “They take up room and you may have to suction them out,” a potentially costly endeavor, explained Haught, of Waynesburg.
The difficulty in dealing with these elements was evident during the tour of the primary clarifier, where the purification process begins. Some debris was removed immediately, but as the water flowed on, scraps were still visible along with a small floe of grease. About a dozen mini-fatbergs – which, if unchecked, could meld into a large fatberg – collected in a small screen. The process is meticulous, though, and Haught said the water is eventually disinfected and sent to a creek or river.
There is, according to DuBose, a proper way to get rid of the FOG. “We say, ‘Pour it, freeze it, scrape it.'” In other words, put the grease, oils and fat in a sealed container, place it in the freezer, then throw the frozen mess into the trash.
PAWC recommends that consumers:
- Never pour grease into sinks, toilets or drains;
- Install baskets/strainers in the sink drain to catch food scraps and empty them into the garbage;
Realize that garbage disposals do not prevent grease from washing down the drain. And that detergents claiming to dissolve grease may pass it down the line and cause problems in other parts of the wastewater system.
Follow those guidelines for a fatberg-free holiday.