The Water & Waste Department is responsible for the maintenance of the sewer system, the storm sewer system, lift stations, and the sewage lagoons.

The sewerage system consists of:

• one main lagoon system which serves Porter Creek, Hillcrest, Takhini, Downtown, and Riverdale
• one minor lagoon system that serves Crestview
• four major lift stations and a flush tank
• five minor lift stations

Toilets Are Not Garbage Cans

Our toilets are made to handle human waste (pee, poop and vomit) and toilet paper. All the extra’s (mops, flushable wipes, kids toys, feminine products, hair, dental floss, condoms, underwear, etc) should be disposed of in your garbage or recycling bins. They may go down your toilet, but can cause big problems in your home plumbing and the City sewer system.

There is no regulation to specify what items are flushable. Around the world ‘flushable’ wipes have become a big problem and cities are pushing for ISO standards to label truly flushable items. The wipes (and all other foreign objects that aren’t pee, poop and toilet paper) collect grease and build up with other foreign materials. This can cause your pipes, city sewer lines and pumps to back up meaning flooded bathrooms, homes, or streets.

Maintenance to remove the foreign matter to get pumps up and running again or to clean up sewage floods is costly to tax payers. Put waste where it belongs (compost, recycle, waste) to prevent unnecessary costs of sewage maintenance.