LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After some pandemic supplies are going down the toilet and breaking part of the sewer system in Bloomfield, city officials are asking the public to stop flushing their face masks.
Workers are asking people to get rid of their trash — which includes face masks, wipes, and paper towels — the right way.
"(The items) cannot pass through the pumps if they're not degrading, so we actually had a pump that burned up. Basically the motor overheated," said Scott Thompson, Bloomfield public works superintendent. "I was like, it's time to put a notice to the public to try to get everybody to help us."
Thompson says workers have been getting called out several times a week — sometimes in the middle of the night — to dig out items that are clogging the system.
A mask found in the city of Bloomfield's sewer.
"It's frustrating, not only that, but costly as well," said Thompson. "When that pump fails, it's going to cost $5,000 or $6,000 (taxpayer money) to repair that pump."
He said it's become a problem in many areas.
"This is not just Bloomfield. It's not just Bardstown. This is a state of Kentucky-wide problem," said Thompson. "Shepherdsville has had a lot of issues as well, so that tells me it's pretty statewide."
It doesn't just hurt the city's equipment, but improperly discarded masks can harm the environment as well.
"They'll find their way into the stormwater drains, the creeks, the streams," said Thompson. "It's a litter problem."
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