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COVID-19
COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness that is transmitted two ways: respiratory and contact. Customers should follow public health recommendations for common sense health safety tips.
Milwaukee drinking water is safe. Milwaukee has long treated their water with ozone and chlorine disinfection and filtration. The Centers for Disease Control confirms these conventional water treatment methods should remove or inactivate Coronaviruses including the Novel Coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Milwaukee monitors chlorine levels throughout the distribution system to ensure the safety of the drinking water at the tap. This is consistent with information from the World Health Organization and local and state health officials.
The World Health Organization recommends common sense health safety tips and social distancing, including:
- Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. At this time, no special sanitizing processes beyond routine cleaning are necessary or recommended to slow the spread of respiratory illness.
WHAT NOT TO FLUSH:
Just because something can be flushed down the toilet, does not mean it should be. Toilet paper is specifically designed to break down in water. Although paper towel, napkins, and facial tissue appear to be of the same material, they do not disintegrate in water the way toilet paper does. These items can create costly clogs for both your home and our pipes.
Residents have started using common alternatives like wet wipes, paper towels, facial tissue and cloth wipes as substitutes for bathroom toilet paper. Many of these products are labeled as "Flushable", these alternative products do not degrade in water like toilet paper does and they can, and do plug sanitary sewer laterals, building/home drains and sewer collection system mains when flushed down toilets.
Obstructions and clogs that occur in private sanitary sewer laterals or within residents building/home drains become the responsibility of the property owner. Some laterals are cracked, displaced or have roots in them which make the use of these products even worse. During this COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place order, it is highly unlikely that plumbers and drain cleaners will be receptive to freeing clogged sewer pipes. These non-degradable wipes, paper towels and personal hygiene products have been removed from the sanitary sewer collection system/lift station pumps, which can cost the City and you, the system user, thousands of dollars.
To avoid future sanitary sewer clogs and backups, all residents and users of the sanitary sewer system are reminded to throw wipes, paper towels, tissue and personal hygiene products in the trash and not flush them down the toilets.
In these extraordinary times, we all need to be respectful of how our actions impact our infrastructure, neighbors and Utility staff.
RULES OF FLUSHING
- Baby wipes or cleaning wipes
- Cotton balls and swabs
- Tampons and sanitary products
- Cat litter
- Condoms
- Prescription medicines
- Over the counter medicines
- Tissue
- Cigarette butts
- Dental Floss
- Cloth
- Food waste grease & oils
- Paper Towels
For more information go to What not to flush
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Divisions
The City of New Berlin Utility Department consists of:
Call Before You Dig
The Utility Department would like to remind anyone planning excavation work to call Before You Dig.
Resources
Return forms to: City of New Berlin, 3805 S Casper Drive, New Berlin, WI 53151