The Town of Okotoks is encouraging residents to be water wise.

Many people go for convenience and look for words like "flushable"  when purchasing products but may not be aware of the impacts they have on local water systems.

Cancy Weigel, corporate and strategic services director, says the water treatment and waste water treatment plants can be affected by what's being flushed or put down the drain and says it's better to throw certain items in the trash.

"Any kind of a wipe, a diaper wipe as an example, some of them are advertised as being flushable and certainly it's possible to flush it down the toilet but it's really not good for the system," she says. "Dental floss is another, grease down a drain, some type of female hygiene products, nail polish, and pharmaceuticals."

Weigel says when it comes to outside of the house people should also be careful about what their putting into storm drains to help protect ecosystems.

"It goes into the storm drain which then of course leads directly to the river so we have to think about the aquatic habitats in the river as well as thinking about the waste water treatment plant and the types of products that can be a challenge for it's process and then it eventually gets back into the river again."

She adds wastewater treatment facilities aren't designed to remove most medicines, personal care products, and hazardous wastes.

For more information about Okotoks water treatment and supply click here.

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