Why you should care: Rats Wastewater Treatment Our Wastewater Treatment Facility is Yes, it’s true. Rats love to live in When wastewater (sewage) is flushed publically owned, which means we all sewers. It is not just from household toilets, drained from pay for the associated costs. Proper a big-city sinks, showers and bathtubs, garbage sewage treatment is vital in protecting problem, it disposals, washing machines or dish- everyone from water borne diseases and happens in Dallas, washers, it leaves your home and flows protecting the environment from too. What can you through the community sanitary sewer pollution.This important job is not cheap; do to prevent them from coming into system to the Wastewater Treatment we all pay for it. We can work together your home from the sewer? Keep your Facility. This infrastructure includes miles to help keep costs down by not contributing to the problem. Clogs in City kitchen sink rinsed and clean and use of underground pipes and pumps main- sewer lines from grease or from other garbage disposals as little as possible. tained by the City to provide transpor- materials cost money to be cleared out. Rinse out your kitchen sink once or tation of raw sewage from homes and This can affect everyones utility bills. twice a month with 1 cup of baking businesses to the Wastewater Treatment soda followed by 1 cup of vinegar and Facility. rinse with boiling water. If one comes up through your toilet, close the lid and Dallas has a state of the art Wastewater flush. Call the Public Works Department Treatment Facility that removes if you’ve encountered a sewer rat, we pollutants from water used in homes, can take steps to help get rid of them. small businesses, industries, and other Nothing is 100% effective, but these facilities. It goes through three process measures may help keep them at bay. including screening, bacteria treatment to remove all organic matter, and Household Hazardous Waste disinfectant using ultraviolet light. The Polk County treated water is released back to Private Sewer Rickreall Creek. Lateral Maintenance holds two Property owners are fully responsible for Household The city has contracted with CH2M to maintaining adequate sewage flow to Hazardous and through the sewer lateral from the Waste events operate and maintain this system. The structure to the City’s sewer main. When every year. One in Dallas every May and funding of operation and maintenance failure or stoppage of a sewer lateral one in Independence every October. comes from monthly utility bills. occurs, City crews will respond only to Contact Polk County for details at check the City’s sewer main to verify that 503.623.9237. While waiting for a the sewer main is open and sewage is collection event, keep paints, used flowing. If the sewer main is found to be motor oil, and other hazardous clear, it is the responsibility of the chemicals in a secure place in your property owner to call a licensed home out of reach of children. And plumber or drain cleaning service to please, don’t flush them down the drain. correct the problem. For questions, call the Public Works Department. Wipes Drugs Household items The generic term “wet wipes” includes Wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove conventional pollutants such Sewer systems are not waste disposal the pre-moistened wipes used in lieu of as human waste and other biodegradable organic materials from waters. They were units. Items labeled as disposable are not toilet paper, baby wipes, premoistened not designed to remove even low concentrations of synthetic pollutants such as necessarily safe to flush. Some items may towelettes, and disinfection wipes used pharmaceuticals. Everyday unwanted or expired medicine is disposed of via make it through your household plumb- in kitchens and bathrooms. Their indoor drains, down the sink or in the toilet. The small amount that passes through the ing and still cause serious problems marketing and use has exploded over treatment system can end up in streams. A number of studies have shown impacts of further down in the system. the last several years and many brands pharmaceuticals on aquatic life. The City of Dallas is seeking to reduce the amount of claim to be flushable even though they prescription or over the counter drugs disposed of in wastewater and ending up in Never Flush: do not break down like regular toilet Rickreall Creek. The best choice for environmentally friendly disposal is to take • Wet wipes (even those labeled as paper in the sewer system. They tend to unwanted medicine to a collection location or return them to the pharmacy. “flushable”) catch and snag in the pipes, forming • Fats, oils or grease blockages and back-ups, clogging You can drop off old, expired or unused prescriptions at: • Prescription or over the counter pumps, and leading to all sorts of Dallas City Hall, Finance Office, First Floor, 187 SE Court Street, Dallas, OR 97338. medications unpleasant and expensive problems. For more information or other questions about pharmaceutical disposal, please contact • Feminine hygiene products including Ideally, the only thing that should be Polk County Environmental Health at 503.623.9327. tampons and applicators flushed other than human waste is toilet • Cotton balls, swabs, band-aids or paper. They may feel soft on skin, but dental floss they are hard on the infrastructure. • Condoms • Hair Fat, Oil, and Grease (FOG) • Razors, needles, or syringes Fat not only clogs our arteries, it clogs • Disposable diapers or baby wipes our sewer pipes too. This can lead to • Household hazardous materials such big problems with sewer flows. Please as anti-freeze, automotive chemicals, do not put fats, oils or grease into your fertilizer, herbicides or pesticides sink, toilet, or garbage disposal. This can • Paint, paint thinner or wood stain damage your pipes and cause big • Cat litter (even “flushable”) blockages in the public system. Let it • Goldfish or other small animals cool, and then scrape it into the trash. • Bandaids