Tempe city workers conduct sewer cleanup ahead of the holidays

Ahead of holidays, Tempe city workers work to clean up sewage pipes

Ahead of the holidays, Tempe city workers took part in a sewer cleanup effort to make sure the city's sewage pipes will not be affected by clogs, at a time when people will cook more. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas reports.

TEMPE, Ariz. - As families prepare to host relatives and friends for the holidays, something that may not be on people’s minds are their sewer pipes.

Every year, cities see a lot of gross build up in residential sewer lines, and on Dec. 20, workers with the City of Tempe took part in a cleanup, with an aim to prevent more buildup.

"Today, we're cleaning a portion of the City of Tempe's wastewater collection system. This is a routine activity that's conducted throughout the year," said City of Tempe Environmental Services Manager Jeremy Mikus.

The routine activity that Mikus speaks of is held three times a year, and one of those three times is scheduled right before the holidays, during a time when more people are cooking and putting things down the drain that cause buildup within the city's pipes.

"More and more people are cooking with what we passionately call FOG: Fats, Oils and Grease," said Mikus. "That FOG enters the wastewater collection system, and needs to be removed so that we don't have backups within the collection system."

Mikus also explains how the Tempe maintains its 500-miles wastewater collection system.

"We have a high-pressure hose that will go into the collection system. It will be sent down several hundred feet, and then we pull back slowly the debris that have, overtime, built up in the collection system, and then we have a tube that goes down and vacuums that debris," said Mikus.

Along with grease and oil that make its way down the pipes, so do flushable wipes. Mix that with fats and grease clinging to the flushable wipes, Mikus said that's where big clogs start to accumulate.

"We find that these types of products will get caught in pumps, and actually cause operational issues within the infrastructure," said Mikus. "We encourage people to not flush items that cannot disintegrate in water, and are not designed to be flushed in the sewer system."

This problem could also create buildup in residential popes, which will require a plumber to fix. Tempe city officials say the best thing to do is not put food down the garbage disposal, but to throw away any leftover food in the trash in order to prevent buildup.

Tips from the American Public Works Association on how you can make a difference:

Solidify oil from deep fat fryers by mixing it with cat litter, coffee grounds or other absorbent material.
Scrape drippings, gravy and other grease into a lidded container and allow to congeal before discarding in the trash.
Pour grease into a sealed container before soaking a greasy pan, then place paper towels over the drain to catch residual grease as you pour water down the drain.
Avoid using big jugs that can leak and make a mess of collection trucks and disposal facilities. Take large quantities to a local waste or recycling center.