Stormwater is water from a rain or snow event. Sanitary sewage is water discharged from in-home plumbing such as sinks, toilets, bathtubs, and showers.
The customer is responsible for water service from the sidewalk or road right-of-way into the building or house. The District is responsible from the water main to the sidewalk or road right-of-way.
The customer is responsible for the sewer lateral from the sidewalk or road right-of-way into the building or house. The District is responsible from sewer main to sidewalk or road right-of-way.
Call the District first. We can help determine if the problem is a public utility or private issue. The District is responsible for sanitary sewer and water only.
Only human waste and toilet paper should be flushed down your toilet. However, our wastewater treatment professionals find a wide variety of items in our sewers and collection facilities, including cell phones, toys, cueballs, and marbles.
The following is a short list of materials that should never be disposed of in kitchen and bathroom sinks, or down your toilet.
Fats, Oils, & Grease (FOG)
Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) come from meats, butters and margarine, lard, food scraps, sauces, salad dressings, dairy products, and cooking oil. When FOG goes down the drain, it hardens and causes sewer pipes to clog. This can lead to a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) where raw sewage actually backs up into your home, lawn, neighborhood, and streets.
Please do not pour oil and grease down drains or toilets. Grease is the number one cause of sewer blockages in homes. It cools as it travels through pipes and, over time, the accumulation of FOG can block pipes, contribute to clogs, and, eventually, cause raw sewage to surcharge out of nearby manholes.
The solution: allow fat, oils, and grease to harden in a can or carton and then dispose of it in your garbage.
Pharmaceuticals
Did you know that 70% of us take at least one prescription medication, with 1 in 5 Americans taking as many as 5 different medicines on a consistent basis? Nearly 40% of those prescriptions end up going unused. That amounts to 200 million pounds of stockpiled, unused, and expired pills, syrups, and liquids.
In Wood County, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office has an RX Drug Drop Box Program available to deposit unused unwanted, or expired prescription drugs.
Never flush prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medicines down a toilet or sink. Proper disposal of these substances means you are doing your part to protect our water resources. Please follow FDA guidelines.
Personal Care, Cleaning, and Miscellaneous Items
Unlike toilet paper, which breaks down quickly in water, personal, baby, and cleaning/disinfecting wipes remain intact and tangle into massive clogs that jam pumps and block pipes. Even those labeled “flushable” should not be flushed.
Here’s a list of a few other items that cannot be recycled and should always be disposed of in a trash receptacle:
- Toys, or anything made of plastic, including plastic coffee stirrers
- Paper towels
- Cat litter or animal waste
- Diapers and baby wipes
- Cigarette butts
- Disposable toilet brushes and cleaning/disinfecting wipes
- Tampons and sanitary pads, personal care wipes
Blue & green flags are used to indicate where water and sewer utilities are underground. By law, prior to any excavation, the Ohio Utilities Protection Service (OUPS) is called for utility locations to be marked. Calls may be placed by customers, utility departments, engineering firms, or contractors.
Visit the Ohio 811 website for more info.
Septic tanks are always full. Liquid is draining during every use of sanitary sewer. Septic tanks are used to separate liquid and solids.
Visit the EPA page on septic tanks for more info on how your septic tank works.
Every 3 to 7 years solids are required to be removed by a private hauler.
Call our Operations department at (419) 354-9090, option 3. If after hours, call (419) 354-9001 for the Wood County Sheriff’s office; they will relay the information to our after-hours duty person.
You can use your toilet, but no dishwasher or washing machine until one of our maintenance techs can resolve the issue.
No charge unless we find abuse or abnormal use.
Kitty litter, aquarium stone, grease, ground-up chicken bones, abrasives, paint.
Generally 2 hours depending on time of day and other circumstances.
Yes, but it may be in high water alarm. If it does not clear in 20 minutes, call it in. To silence an audible alarm, push the rubber button on the bottom of the alarm box. Do not turn off the power.