Those coping with coronavirus taxing sewer system

LACONIA — The spread of the novel coronavirus has upended daily life for thousands of people around the Lakes Region and across the state. Because there is currently no cure for coronavirus, an anxious public has been buying far more sanitizing products than usual. And because many people are flushing those items down the toilet, that is putting a strain on the sewerage infrastructure.

The Winnipesaukee River Basin Program — the 10-community regional sewerage system of which Laconia is a part — and most other systems in the state “have seen an increase the number and severity of sewer system clogs that are the result of paper towels and wipes that are being flushed down the toilet,” according to Wes Anderson, Laconia’s public works director. “This increase happened shortly after the increase in COVID-19 cases,” he noted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred consumer panic buying, with customers snatching up rolls of toilet paper faster than stores can restock the shelves. With toilet paper often out of stock, people are buying wipes, paper towels, napkins, tissues and even toilet seat covers to use as a substitute.

Unlike toilet paper, most of these products do not break up readily in water, said Sharon McMillin, environmental program administrator for the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program, which operates the region’s sewage treatment plant.

Anderson said the public needs to be given a heads-up before the issue becomes more serious.

“We’re not shooting up, but we’re starting to see increases” in the number of clogs in the system, he said. But, he continued, it will become a problem “if people continue to dispose of paper towels, wipes and other material down the toilet.”

The troubles that have occurred have been most notable in pumping stations, Anderson said.

While some of the larger pumping stations have machinery that grinds up solids, once sanitizing wipes are introduced into the system they can pose a persistent problem because, given their fibrous material, even after they are ground up they tend to recombine, McMillin said.

The problems that result from flushing these items down the toilet are not limited to sewerage systems. They can also cause septic systems to fail, McMillin noted. People who have holding tanks need to remember that eventually the effluent in the tanks is brought to the sewage treatment plant where wipes and other undissolved paper products can create clogs.

Anderson pointed out that unless people become more careful about what they are flushing down the toilet they could end up paying higher sewer bills.

“The more clogs and repairs associated with these clogs that a system has to deal with, the more costs increase,” Anderson said.