WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Town of West Seneca is urging residents to stop flushing wipes of any kind, even those marketed as “flushable,” because of ongoing issues in the town’s sanitary sewer system.
Russell Anderson, a lifelong resident, was among those impacted last December.
“My wife was taking down the Christmas decorations, and she went down to the basement. We started smelling sewage, and our whole street was pretty much backed up,” Anderson said. “At first, we thought it was just us, but other neighbors were dealing with it too.”
Anderson immediately contacted the town, and he said they were very responsive and helpful.
“They told us the cause was items like wipes and feminine products clogging the system," Anderson said.
The problem extended beyond plumbing.
“There was standing water in our front yard, in the middle of winter, and in other neighbors' yards as well,” he said. “In our basement, the rug was soaked. We had to use a shop vac to clean it up.”
Town officials said the issue stems from misleading product labels. While so-called "flushable" wipes may exit the toilet bowl, they don’t disintegrate like toilet paper and can clog pumps and damage equipment, leading to costly failures in the sanitary sewer system.
WATCH: West Seneca urges residents not to flush any kind of wipes due to issues with sanitary sewer system
Anderson agrees with the town’s warning.
“I can’t stress enough, flushable wipes are not flushable,” he said. “Please just educate yourself. Don’t flush anything but toilet paper. That’s really the only thing that should be going down.”
In a statement, the Town of West Seneca said:
“The Town of West Seneca is urging all residents to stop flushing “flushable” wipes down the toilet. Although marketed as flushable, these wipes do not break down like toilet paper and can clog pumps and other equipment, leading to costly failures within the Town’s sanitary sewer system. When flushed, wipes often become entangled in pump impellers, causing the pumps to jam or shut down. These malfunctions frequently trigger emergency maintenance needs and may result in sewer backups into homes, streets, or the environment.
Residents are asked to dispose of all wipes including baby wipes, cleaning wipes, and personal hygiene wipes in the trash, not the toilet. Proper disposal helps prevent sewer system failures, reduces maintenance costs, and protects public health and the environment. For more information, please contact the West Seneca Engineering Department at (716) 558 3220 or visit www.westseneca.gov [westseneca.gov]"
In a Facebook post on July 1, the town issued an even more specific warning to residents in Sanitary District #12:
"ATTENTION Fisher Court Subdivision Residents: Please do not flush wipes of any kind. The Bernadette pump house (Sanitary District #12) had severe issues with pumps clogging with these wipes this week (6-28-25). If the pumps fail outright, the entire subdivision will have sanitary backups. Please DO NOT FLUSH wipes whatsoever, even if they “advertise” they are flushable.
The streets included in Sanitary District #12 are as follows:
Bernadette
Neubauer
Campbell
Charlescrest
Angelacrest
Waltercrest
Leocrest
Marycrest
Pacecrest
Fieldcrest
Nancycrest"
