Wastewater Safety

Safety

Lebanon Utilities considers the safety of its customers and employees a top priority. If you have any safety-related questions, please call us at (765) 482-5100.

Call Before You Dig

Please make sure you CALL 811 BEFORE YOU DIG! You need to call two working days before you plan to dig. Be sure to have your property located before you begin digging in your yard!

Avoid Drain Pain – Don’t Flush These Things

Just because the package says flushable doesn’t mean it’s true. Many items marketed as disposable and/or flushable do not degrade like toilet paper, and they wind up clogging pipes, tangling pumps and causing messy sewer backups into streets, businesses and homes.

Our sewers are designed to dispose of very specific things. Using your toilet for disposal of many modern products can result in blockages. The drains that connect your home to the main sewer are only big enough to carry water, toilet paper and human waste. Sewer pipes are often no wider than 4 inches.

What Not to Flush
Diapers – cloth, disposable, flushable
Facial tissues
Baby wipes, disinfectant wipes, moist wipes, etc.
Toilet bowl scrub pads
Swiffers
Napkins – paper or cloth, paper towels
Dental floss
Egg shells, nutshells and coffee grounds
Food items containing seeds and peelings
Hair
Sanitary napkins, tampons, condoms or any non-organic material
Vitamins, medicines or other pharmaceuticals
Wash cloths, towels, rags (any cloth item)
Clothing
Sheet plastic or plastic of any kind
Fats, oils, and greases

Fats, Oils and Grease

Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) are an expensive and unsanitary problem in our sewers. FOG comes from food scraps, meat fats, lard, oil, margarine, butter, baking goods, sauces and dairy products. While it’s unlawful to improperly discard these substances, it’s also harmful to the environment. The majority of FOG in our wastewater (sewer) system comes from restaurants and other food preparation establishments. However, we can all do our part to minimize and eliminate FOG in our sewers.

The Problem:
When Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) are washed down sinks, floor drains or are otherwise improperly discarded, clogs are formed. In time, these clogs can cause sewer backups to occur. These backups are costly to repair, harmful to the environment and can potentially cause health hazards. FOG leads to increased sewer maintenance and wastewater treatment costs, which ultimately means increased costs for customers.

Sanitary Problems:
Sewer backups and clogs attract insects and vermin, which create health hazards for everyone. These backups and clogs can also cause sewer overflows which result in a release of untreated sewage into our neighborhoods and waterways.

What you can do:
Everyone can take steps at home and work to prevent FOG from entering our sewers.

–Never pour fats, oils or grease into drains or flush down toilets.
–When cooking, pour any fats, oils or grease into an empty jar. These materials solidify when cooled. Once the jar is full, secure the lid and put it in the trash.
–Do not pour grease into your garbage disposal. Put the remaining food on plates and disposable utensils in the trash.
–For restaurants, or other food preparation establishments, FOG can be a valuable resource as a recyclable. FOG can be sold to rendering companies for use in soaps, fertilizers and animal feeds.