Please do NOT flush wet wipes, tissue or heavy paper towels.

Experts are warning that the panic run on toilet paper could lead to much bigger waste problems than we realize.

With toilet paper in short supply due to the panic buying in response to COVID-19, some researchers warn there’s a risk that toilet paper alternatives such as wet wipes, tissue, napkins and paper towels may lead to another major “monster” waste issues in YOUR sewer houseline and the District’s collection system!

With supermarket shelves wiped bare of toilet paper, water infrastructure experts fear that the use of toilet paper alternatives such as wet wipes, napkins and thicker paper could lead to major blockages in our water and sewage systems.

Some water utilities have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars removing wet wipes from the collection systems, lift pumps and at sewage treatment plants. These products can create blockages of fat, sanitary items and wet wipes that block pipes and pumps and cause an added expense to remove.

Please do not flush wet wipes or heavy paper towels and properly dispose of them by throwing them in the trash.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods that use chlorine disinfection, such as those in Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District 185’s drinking water system, should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.