Sewer Collection & Treatment

The wastewater reclamation facility was modernized and expanded from a maximum capacity of 580,000 gallons per day to .76 million gallons per day of treatment, with the addition of a modern filtration system which provides us with more reliability of producing processed water meeting high levels of treatment, so we can safely return this water to the environment. This facility has won the annual Florida Rural Water Association's Medium Wastewater Facility of the Year. The Collection system consists of over 40 miles of sewer main and 38 pump stations that pump 45 to 450 gallons per minute in capacity. There are approximately 670 manholes connected to the mains, providing access to the gravity sewer approximately every 400 feet for maintenance.

Wastewater Reclamation Facility

An aerial view of the City of Belleview's Sewer Treatment Plant.

Fats Oil and Grease (FOG) in Your Home

FOG is just one of those things in our household that we have to deal with, like never-ending laundry and overflowing garbage cans that nobody wants to take out; however, unlike a heap of laundry, FOG has the potential to do serious harm to your house and the City's sewer system.  

FOG is the residual left from cooking or preparing food.  It’s the:

  • Buttermilk left over from marinating your chicken
  • Left-over oil from deep-frying
  • Mayo left on your knife from making a sandwich
  • Grease left in the pan from cooking bacon
  • Melted butter left on your plate after eating corn on the cob
  • Melted and then re-solidified cheese in the cookie sheet after making nachos for game night
  • And any other residual that comes from meat, lard, oils, shortening, butter, margarine, dairy products, gravies, etc.  

FOG is present in almost every meal we make!

All this residual material, if washed down the drain, will accumulate in the pipes under your house.   The more times you rinse FOG down the drain, the more of a problem you’re creating!  FOG coats the interior of your plumbing, and over time, the FOG coating in the pipe becomes thicker and thicker until eventually the pipe becomes clogged and causes a backup in your home.   The last thing anyone needs is a sewer backup in the house! 

Not only does the FOG coat the pipes in the plumbing for your house, but it eventually makes its way to the City sewer collection system.  Every time you drain boiling pasta down the sink or use dish soap to wash pots and pans, a little bit of the FOG mobilizes and moves further along the pipes.  The FOG coating in the pipes is sticky, and food particles, sanitary items, hair, “flushable wipes”, and other unsavory items that get flushed get caught in the FOG.  Eventually, these “fat bergs” clog the sewer lines and backups happen in whole neighborhoods.  The City must then spend tens of thousands of dollars (or more!) to remove the fat bergs from the sewer and clean the lines.  

 

How to Prevent FOG

Prevention is always the best course of action!  Try these tips to keep your pipes FOG-free and free-flowing:

  • Use a spatula to scrape the grease from pans into a container
    1. Can
    2. Wide-mouth glass jar (pasta sauce jars work great)
    3. Zip-lock bag
    4. Large sour cream or yogurt containers
  • Soak up grease with used paper towels, then put them in the trash
  • Dry-wipe all your cooking devices (pans, pots, utensils, etc.) with paper towels before washing, then put the paper towels in the trash
  • Use a sink strainer to catch all materials before they can enter the pipes
    1. Don’t use your garbage disposal—instead, just use a sink strainer and then throw the contents in the trash
  • Don’t use harsh chemicals, excessive amounts of dish soap, or products that claim to emulsify or break down grease as these products just move some FOG further down the pipes, and some of the chemicals can damage pipes