The towns current campaign is 'Think Before You Flush'.

To avoid costly sewage back ups and to protect local rivers residents are asked to not flush anything that isn't urine, feces, or toilet paper down the toilet.

Okotoks Epcor Site Manager Darren Peel says the unwanted materials can poorly impact the environment.

"Flushing things down the drain that you're not supposed to puts more stress on the treatment process at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, it makes it have to work harder to make the water safe to discharge back to the river. So no direct impact that way but it increases the demand on the plant process and potential cost down the road for the tax payers."

Peel says that the waste water treatment plant isn't designed to remove everything flushed.

"Things that don't get treated out of the water, if you flush down medication that can pass through the system without getting treated so that can have a potential impact on fish or other aquatic life."

But it's not just the environment that's being affected, Peel says in the long run residents can be impacted as well.

"It can clog your own sewer pipe which is your responsibility to maintain free and clear so if you are putting let's say a bunch of house hold grease down and wipes and paper towels, it can all accumulate and gradually build up in your pipe. Potentially causing you a back up and...a back up on the mains which can affect more than one homeowner."

Common things flushed that tend to create back ups include: dental floss, cooking fats and "flushable" wipes.

For more information on what's not granted access to the local sewers and how it affects our environment visit okotoks.ca.

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