City of Abilene Fats, Oils & Grease Program
Keep Abilene Flowing is a way to increase community awareness about the need to properly dispose of wipes, fats, oils, and grease, and the importance of keeping them out of our sewer system.
- Drainwrecks occur from a clog or blockage in the sewer line.
- Abilene is made up of more than 650 miles of pipe.
- When a line is clogged, sewage has to go somewhere, it overflows out of sinks, manholes, bathtubs, etc.
- This causes a huge, foul-odored and expensive mess to fix.
Causes
More than 80% of these overflows, have been due to fats, oils, and grease in the sewer. And with the addition of flushable wipes (which do not disintegrate), the problem has magnified. In response to this, the City of Abilene has created a program to increase community awareness and provide guidance and direction to both businesses and residents as we respond to this health and environmental concern.
A new Ordinance has been created for restaurants and food service providers to follow. In addition, Drainwreck is an educational campaign launched to change resident behavior for disposing fats, oils and grease. We must each do our part to reduce the amount of grease in our sewer system in order to make Abilene a clean and healthy place to live.
Prevention
To prevent costly plumbing problems in your own home, don't pour oil or grease down the drain or garbage disposal. If you do, there's a risk of sewer backups that could damage your possessions or cause your water to be shut off while repairs are made. Instead, put every drop of kitchen grease where it belongs: in the trash.
