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EPIDEMIC OF
WIPES AND
MASKS PLAGUE
SEWERS, STORM
DRAINS
Mayor Jim Kenney kicked off a recent briefing
on Philadelphia’s coronavirus response with an
unusual request for residents: Be careful what
you flush.
Between mid-March, when the city’s stay-at-
home order was issued, and the end of April,
most of the 19 sewer and storm water pumping
stations in Philadelphia had experienced clogs
from face masks, gloves and wipes residents had
pitched into the potty, Kenney said.
“Please do not flush any of these items down the
toilet,” the mayor said.
Officials in other U.S. cities and rural
communities — and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency — have issued similar pleas
as wastewater plant operators report a surge of
stopped-up pipes and damage to equipment.
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