WINONA LAKE — Winona Lake’s Street Superintendent, Thomas Miller is getting creative when it comes to residents who insist on flushing items down their toilets that shouldn’t be introduced into the town’s sanitary sewer.

“We’re going with this ‘No Wipes Down The Pipes,’” Miller said at the regular Winona Lake Town Council meeting Tuesday night, April 17.

“We’re really having problems with people putting these disposable wipes and things of that nature down their toilets” Miller said. Miller showed the council and the audience a photo of one of his department’s clogged impellers.

“This was last weekend and as you can see right there, that’s what that is. It [disposable wipe] gets wrapped around the impeller and it burns the pumps up. We had three pumps burn up within a week because of this. So, it’s imperative that they don’t dump this stuff down.”

Miller said that residents who continue flushing unauthorized products down the toilet could face issues if the town’s sewer use ordinance is used, including associated fines or even elimination of service.

Miller said that in addition to disposable wipes, other items that should not be flushed include diapers, cloth or disposable, any type of baby wipes, paper towel, cloth towels or any type of rag, feminine hygiene products and facial tissues.

According to Miller, each pump that had to be replaced cost about $5,600 a piece. “That was just last weekend,” he said.