(Kansas City, Mo.) – While fog can cause problems for drivers, FOG can ruin your Thanksgiving holiday.
FOG is the fats, oils, and grease that are left over from cooking. While it may be tempting to pour FOG down the drain, please don’t do it. KC Water Utility Supervisor Christopher Ashley explains why. “You only have a certain diameter of pipe that leads from your residence to the city sewer. Once grease gets into your system and builds up, it gets hard as a rock which restricts your flow of sewage going into our city sewer mains. It causes potential backups in your home.”
As the holiday cooking season gets underway, KC Water urges everyone to avoid pouring fats, oils and grease down the drain. Instead, let it cool and throw it in the trash.
“If you dispose it somewhere other than your sinks and drains, it will help your system function better,” says Ashley.
While the grease may not immediately clog a homeowner’s sewer line, enough grease over time can block a city sewer main explains Marvin Fox, Senior Plant Operator, “The sewer line is not a trashcan. If it plugs up at your house, it’s going to plug up at the plant.”
Baltimore recently had so much grease in its sewer system it formed a fatberg. A fatberg is a glob of congealed fat, wipes, and waste. A fatberg estimated to weigh 130-tons was discovered in London’s sewer system and took weeks to break down.
When cooking a holiday meal, or any meal, keep the drains FOG-free. Cool and discard of any fats, oils, or grease in the trashcan.
You can take used peanut, canola, and vegetable oils to KC Water’s Household Hazardous Waste facility.
For more information, please contact Brooke Givens, Media Relations Coordinator, at brooke.givens@kcmo.org or 816.513.0284.
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KC Water maintains and operates water treatment and distribution systems, stormwater management systems, and wastewater collection and treatment systems for residential and business customers in Kansas City and for wholesale customers in the Kansas City area. KC Water is primarily funded by fees charged to customers based on their use or impacts on the three utility systems.
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