Are you flushing wet wipes? Please don't
Before we look at what happens after you flush, let's go back a step and check you're doing the right thing before you flush.
Wet wipes are rubbish. They do not break down like toilet paper when flushed. Even wipes that are labelled "flushable" are definitely not!
Wet wipes block pipes.
Please only ever flush the three Ps: pee, poo and (toilet) paper.
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What happens after you flush?
You probably don’t usually think about what happens after you flush the toilet, wash your clothes or take a shower.
All this water (as well as other things like dirt, washing powder and soap) flows down the drain and into the sewerage pipes connected to your property. This liquid waste is known as sewage.
But just imagine if you had to remove this waste yourself, make sure it didn’t harm the environment and treat it to get rid of all the nasties. Yuck!
The sewage treatment process
At Unitywater, we do the dirty work for you. Every minute of every day!
The sewerage system pumps the sewage to a treatment plant where it is processed and treated to remove any contaminants. Once treated, the resulting effluent is released back out into waterways, where it continues its journey through the water cycle. In some cases, the effluent may be re-used for activities like watering gardens and sporting fields.
Each household's sewerage usage charge covers the costs of removing, treating and disposing of this waste. If you use less water, you pay less, but never more than 49.4 cents per day.
How much sewerage usage do you pay?
| Number of people in household | Cost per day to remove, treat and dispose of waste |
|---|---|
| 1 person | 10 cents per day |
| 2 people | 20 cents per day |
| 3 people | 30 cents per day |
| 4 people | 40 cents per day |
| Sewerage usage for residential customers is capped at 740 litres per day to limit the impact on high water users and anyone who may have a concealed leak on their property | 49.4 cents is the maximum daily usage charge any household will pay for removing, treating and disposing of waste. |
As well as removing and treating sewage for you, we build, maintain and replace the sewer pipes, sewage pump stations, sewage treatment plants and other sewage infrastructure for less than $2 per day. This is what your sewerage access charges on the bill pay for.
Everyone can play a part in helping us to reduce our operational costs by simply thinking at the sink. Be mindful about everything you’re flushing or putting down the sink or drain.
And definitely no wet wipes down the toilet. They are NOT flushable (even if the packaging says so)!
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