Bullhead City wastewater staff warn wipes and debris are clogging system, prompting repeated pump replacements

John Trequato, a City of Bullhead City wastewater division employee, urged residents not to flush wipes and other items, saying the debris is causing major sewer backups and recurring pump failures. “Please do not flush any disposable or non disposable wipes, baby wipes, paper towels, napkins, or any other paper or non paper products as this will cause a major sewer backup,” Trequato said.

The warning came with photographs and a description of material recovered in the systemfrom baby wipes to plastic bags and hundreds of tampon plastic applicatorsthat staff said were clogging pumps and drying beds. Trequato said the city has had to replace “two or three pumps at the beginning of that plant to a cost of about $40,000 a piece, just about every year.”

Why it matters: when pumps clog or burn out, crews must remove and replace equipment and conduct labor-intensive cleanups, which the wastewater division said drives maintenance costs and service disruptions. Trequato described the drying bed and the work crews do to pump and remove solids after blockages.

City staff described the material they recover as more than grease and human waste; they listed wipes, plastic bags, razors, pencils, candy wrappers, screws and pieces of styrofoam among the items that plug pumps. Trequato said the visible clumps are primarily baby wipes and paper and that when pumps burn up the city must contract outside services to restore operations, a maintenance cost he said is avoidable if residents stop flushing those items.

The wastewater division provided no aggregated annual cost beyond the per-pump figure and did not give a precise count of pumps replaced in a year. The division also reiterated standard guidance: only human waste, toilet paper and gray water should be disposed of in the sewer system.

The city advised residents with questions to contact the wastewater division through the city website.