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Frequently Asked Questions
About Grease and Your
Sewer System
HOW BIG IS THE PROBLEM?
Grease accounts for
two-thirds of our sewer blockages and overflows. Whether it's an 8-inch
residential line or a 3-foot sewer main, grease can build
up and block them all.
HOW DOES THIS PROBLEM AFFECT ME?
As a community,
the responsibility to be conscientious of what we put down
the drain falls on all of us. We are all responsible for maintaining
our water and wastewater lines whether physically or financially.
You might think it's just a little cooking grease
or oil. Just run hot water to dump it down the drain, right?
The problem is that even though you use hot water, it may go
down your drain, but when it joins wastewater from your neighbors,
the grease floats on top of the water and sticks to the pipes
as it makes its way downstream.
It can also get caught
on other globs of grease and food. These blockages may go
unnoticed for months because they're not fully closed off...
maybe they're just partially blocked. But when we hit a time
when we need peak flow in the sewer system, the pipes can't handle
the volume. Then all that water gets stopped up and starts to
backflow wherever it can. It may even back up into your
house.
WHERE IS THE PROBLEM?
Grease
is a problem all over the city but our biggest problem areas
are Downtown, the East Side, Northeast Side and the West Side.
WHY CAN'T SAWS JUST BUILD
A SYSTEM THAT CAN HANDLE ALL SORTS OF WASTE?
No matter
how good or advanced the treatment system is, it's not
going to stop grease and other debris from getting stuck.
WHY SHOULD I CARE IF IT'S NOT IN MY PIPES?
Because
even if isn't your house it may be your neighbor's house.
Just because you personally haven't experienced an overflow doesn't
mean it can't affect you.
Grease can also cause sewage to back
into neighborhood streets, even into your home — remember
anywhere water can get out it will.
It's also an issue of cost.
SAWS
has crews that head out
every day with pressure washers and cameras to do routine
maintenance and make sure the sewer pipes are able to work
properly. But emergencies require extra manpower
and other resources, especially if pipe repair or replacement
is needed. Construction isn't cheap and SAWS is already doing
a lot of work to maintain and replace our aging sewer infrastructure.
WHAT ABOUT RESTAURANTS? WHY AREN'T
YOU TARGETING THEM?
We are working with restaurants and
with the San Antonio Restaurant Association.
Restaurants
and other commercial food preparation companies are required
by law to use grease traps and properly dispose of oil and grease
products in an approved container. If they don't, they can be
fined and have legal action brought against them. SAWS is working
with businesses in the food and restaurant industry to keep owners
and employees up-to-date on proper grease disposal.
WHAT EXACTLY IS GREASE? IS IT JUST
COOKING OIL?
Grease is more than just oil or melted butter.
It also comes from dairy foods like whole milk. It's in
the goo that you pour out of the top of your canned goods after
opening them. It's peanut butter, fried foods or leftovers that
get chopped up in your garbage disposal, salad dressing, cooking
lard for baking, even frosting on cake. If it contains fats of
any kind, those fats will be released as it decomposes and clog
up our pipes.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
Use a disposable container
to get rid of cooled grease and fats. Make sure you use
some sort of container that won't melt or deteriorate. Keep it
by or under your sink so it's handy when you're cleaning up.
One of the best things you can do is educate
your children, friends, family and co-workers about the importance
of grease disposal.
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