MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – As South Florida families prepare to host relatives and friends for Thanksgiving, something that may not be on people’s minds are their sewer pipes.
Local 10 News was granted a behind the scenes tour, underground, for a rare view of work underway to prevent costly sewer main breaks ahead of thanksgiving celebrations in Miami-Dade County.
Did you know that a mighty mobile camera and the technicians operating it are currently working to get thousands of miles of sewer pipes ready for your Thanksgiving Day feast?
“This Thanksgiving holiday everyone needs to be thankful for these gentlemen because if it wasn’t for them going out there to proactively be checking our pipes and clearly them out from blockages you can have a very eventful Thanksgiving,” said Jennifer Messemer-Skold with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. “Instead of going Black Friday shopping you need to be getting an after-hours holiday rate plumber to come out and clear out your lines.”
Residents are the county’s front line of defense to ensuring the holiday doesn’t involve a neighborhood-wide stinky situation.
“If it happens to clog up in the lines underneath your home, that is your financial responsibility if it backs up into the house,” said Messemer-Skold. “If it makes it into the sewer lines and clogs the sewer lines then what happens is we could potentially have a sewer main break so that could be waste water that is flooding into the streets of the community, if it makes it into a storm drain then it becomes an environmental impact and nobody wants that.”
One big problem is hot grease.
Do not pour it down the drain because once it gets down there, it congeals and as it hardens, it forms into what resembles cave-like stalactite formations.
And more guests during the holidays will likely mean more flushing, and more toilet paper.
Another issue is wipes, which also result in problematic pipeline blockages.
“Even if it says flushable, the time it takes from when you flush the toilet to when it gets to water and sewer infrastructure is not enough time for it to breakdown,” said Messemer-Skold. “So if you want to be a good neighbor then don’t flush your wipes and don’t put your garbage down toilet or sink or disposable, put it all in the trash can.”
Experts also say when it comes to food scraps, even if you have a garage disposal, to toss it in the trash can or compost pile.
MORE TIPS AND INFO
Can the grease: let it cool, pour the grease into a can, throw it away in garbage
No wipes in the pipes: throw away don’t flush
Dispose of food scraps in garbage: even if you have a garbage disposal, scrape plates clean before placing in the dishwasher
MORE FROM MESSEMER-SKOLD
On wipes, even those that say flushable: “They don’t have enough time to break down so that the fibrous material isn’t breaking down, so it dissolves into the water. So what happens is it still has that bulk material and eventually get stuck on the inside of the pipe or one of our pump station and it breaks our equipment and ultimately who bears the cost of making those repairs? The rate payers.”
On pipes needing preventative work since more people cook during the holidays: “Most people cook more during the holidays, usually the best thing I make is reservations but even during the holidays I am in the kitchen making family recipes.”
On how viewing pipes with cameras helps with prevention: “Depending on what we see, we are able to prioritize repair and cleaning jobs that will allow us to make sure all our sewer pipes remain in tip top shape. They can also see the laterals, pipes from individual homes into the main sewer line. That way we are able to see if this pipe is potentially clogged up.”
On the problem with grease, food scraps and wipes: “We have pipes that are in excess of 36 to 48 inches in diameter, that is three-four feet of depth and width, and there could only be inches left of viable passageway for waste to go through and if there is no space for it to go, the pressure builds up, the pipe breaks.”
On the importance of tossing your scraps, even if you have a garbage disposable: “Whether you are whipping up mashed potatoes, making that apple pie, you don’t want to put peels down the sink even if you have a garage disposable.”
The compounding issue: “Little changes can have a great benefit because if you once and a while pour grease down the drains and your neighbor pours grease down the drain, well will just flush these wipes this time, it is all a compound issue because it all meets in one place eventually, in the sewer pipe, so it all builds up.”