News Briefs: Ontario WWTP Shuts Down Repeatedly Due to Wipes Clogs

The Blue Mountain (Ontario) Public Works Department recently reached out to the public asking people to stop flushing disposable wipes, as the town’s treatment plant has struggled with the rags causing clogs. “These rags that are often labeled as ‘disposable’ or ‘flushable,’ are not flushable at all,” Allison Kershaw, manager of water and wastewater services, tells Collingwood Today. “At the very end of our treatment plant, where there is supposed to be disinfection occurring, all of these ‘disposable’ rags are collecting and causing major issues.” Kershaw reports troubles with pumps and valves, and crews struggling to clean out the grit and clarifiers.