Don't Flush 'Em — Baby Wipes Clog Up Town's Sewer System

Baby wipes may be wonderful innovations, but when flushed down the toilet, they cause havoc with the blades that churn up the sewage.

So the town's Water and Sewer Commission is working on a campaign to educate town residents about what not to put down the toilet, including baby wipes and cleaning wipes.

"You wouldn't believe what people put down the sewer system," said Chairman Carlton Siegel this week.

He said the sewer system would be better off if town residents never used their garbage disposal.

At the Green Street sewer station crews once pulled out a whole table cloth, said superintendent Amy McHugh.

A lot of things that should go in the trash are ending up in the sewers.

McHugh said she is expecting that the South Essex Sewage District will develop the educational fliers that Marblehead can insert in the July or August bills to educate homeowners and businesses about items that should not be put in the sewer system.

And while the big project you've seen digging up the town's streets is for the drainage system, not the sewer system, it's a good reminder of the importance of the unseen networks that keep the town functioning.