The City of Bonner Springs, together with all other water utilities throughout America, will be celebrating National Drinking Water Week, May 5—11, 2013.  Dedicated to safe, clean and affordable water, the Bonner Springs Utilities Department celebration of National Drinking Water Week provides the opportunity for the Department to promote our most important resource, WATER. 

Tap water is such an integral part of our daily lives that we sometimes don’t notice its immeasurable value.   Safe Drinking water runs through the pipes below our streets, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, delivered to our faucets in our homes, our businesses and our schools.   Bonner Springs Drinking Water is pumped from groundwater then filtered and disinfected at our Water Treatment Plant and is constantly monitored by chemical analyzers.  Department staff samples and conduct chemical analysis checks our Drinking Water quality daily, verifying that we meet Federal and State regulations. Let’s CELEBRATE the greatest treasure of ours during 2013 National Drinking Water Week.

To donate to World Water Day, click the link below:

http://give.water.org/f/waterday-2013/

To help conserve water due to the emergency drought situation in Kansas:

• Take 5 minute or less showers.
• Make sure dishwasher is full before running.
• Check for any possible leaks:    
  • A family of 4 should use around 12,000 gallons of water.  If the usage is higher, a leak may be possible.
  • Check your meter before and after a 2 hour period of no water use.  If the meter has changed, there might be a leak.
  • Check your pipe fittings under the kitchen sink for any water outside the pipe.
  • Check for "silent" toilet leaks by placing food coloring in the tank and wait to see if any color appears in the bowl.
  • Turn the water on in the shower and check for drips where the shower head meets the pipe stem.
  • Check the inground sprinkler system to make sure there is no damage due to frost or freezing.
  • Turn faucet off while brushing teeth.
  • Wash full loads of laundry. 

 

Grease is "hydrophobic," meaning it floats on top of water and adheres to other material such as a sewer pipe.  Grease sticks to the insides of sewer pipes, in both private lines and public lines.  Over time, the grease can build up and block large portions of the sewer line.  Large amounts of oil and grease in waste water can cause sewer lift station failures, wastewater treatment plant problems and environmental concerns.  As grease continues to build, large masses of grease break off and create a blockage downstream.  Grease is one waste that the sewer system cannot handle.  Grease has to be kept out of the system.

Why Grease is a Problem
Grease, a byproduct of cooking comes from meat fats, lard, oil, shortening, butter, margarine, food scraps, baking goods, sauces and dairy products.  When washed down the sink, grease sticks to the insides of sewer pipes on your property and public property.  Overtime, grease will block the entire pipe.  Home garbage disposals do NOT keep grease out of the plumbing system.  Garbage disposals only shred solid material into smaller pieces and do not prevent grease from doing down the drain.  Commercial additives, including detergents, claiming to dissolve grease may pass grease down the line and cause problems in other areas.  The result can be:

• Raw seweage overflowing in your home, your neighbor's home, or business;
• An expensive and unpleasant cleanup that often must be paid for by you, the home or business owner;
• Raw sewage overflowing into parks, yards and streets;
• Potential contact with disease causing organisms;
• An increase in operation and maintenance costs for local sewer departments, which causes higher sewer bills for customer;
• Rancid odors

Do's and Do Not's for Grease Handling:

DO's:

• DO - place cooled cooking oil, poultry and meat fats in sealed non-recyclable conatiners and discard with regular garbage;
• DO - use paper towels to wipe residual grease or oil off of dishes, pots and pans prior to washing them;
• DO - use a grease can.  Opened soup or vegetable cans work well for storage purposes.  Pour grease and oil into a can and store in freezer until the can is full.  Discard in the trash when the can is full.

DO NOT's:

• DO NOT - use a garbage disposal or food grinder.  Grinding food before rinsing down the drain does not remove food, oil and grease.  It just makes the pieces smaller.  Even non-greasy food scraps can plug your home's sewer lines.  Do not put food of any kind down the drain.

• DO NOT - pour cooking oil, pan drippings, bacon grease, salad dressings or sauces down the sink or toilet or into street gutters or storm drains.
• DO NOT - use cloth towels or rags to scrape plates or clean greasy or oily dishware.  When the rags are washed, the grease will end up in the sewer.
• DO NOT - run water over dishes, pans, fryers and griddles to wash oil and grease down the drain.
• DO NOT - dump cooking oil, poultry fat and grease into the kitchen sink or the toilet.
• DO NOT - use hot water and soap to wash grease down the drain.  The grease will cool and harden in your pipes or in the sewer down the line.
• DO NOT - dump used fryer oil or motor oil into the street or house drains.  When poured down house or storm drains, oil may travel to your local stream, bay or harbor where it can harm underwater vegetation and aquatic life.

.