Diamond Lake Sewer System Reminder & Request of all Residents & Guests
The Diamond Lake sewer system is only capable of pumping and processing human waste, toilet paper and water. It was never designed to process any of the following items which are capable of causing clogging and damage to the pumping stations located around the lake.
We ask that you inform each one of your family members and friends that will be visiting. In addition, please explain the rules to any children that can't read as of yet as toys are one of the items that are found in the system periodically.
Please do not flush any of the following items down your toilet under any circumstances (listed in alphabetical order):
- Anything plastic (including Band-Aids, contact lenses, wrappers etc.)
- Baby wipes, hand wipes, facial wipes, adult wipes (even if the label says flushable)
- Chewing gum
- Cigarette butts
- Cleaning wipes or cleaning pads e.g. Swifter
- Cooking grease or oil (once it cools, it solidifies)
- Condoms
- Cosmetics
- Cotton balls or makeup remover pads
- Cotton swaps (Q-tips)
- Dental Floss
- Diapers (of any size)
- Disposable toilet brushes
- Feminine hygiene products (pads, tampons, tampon applicators etc.)
- Fish / turtles / snakes or any little critter
- Food (of any kind)
- Hair (from your brush)
- Kitty litter or dried poop from a litter box (dispose of it in your trash even if it says flushable)
- Makeup wipes
- Matches
- Prescription or over-the-counter medications - All processed sewage water is released back into a Michigan river system. Medications are chemical substances and the sewer system is not capable of filtering all of the substances.
- Rags
- Rubber items e.g. latex gloves
- Styrofoam
- Syringes / needles
- Tissues (Kleenex) / napkins / paper towels (they do not breakdown like toilet paper)
- Tooth picks (plastic or wood)
Please do not put any of the following items down your sink drain regardless if you have a sink garbage disposal or not (listed in alphabetical order):
- Butter / margarine / cooking oil / shortening
- Bones
- Coffee grinds
- Egg shells
- Fat or grease from meat, poultry, sausage, bacon etc. (it goes down the drain as a liquid but then congeals)
- Flour
- Food scraps
- Gelatin e.g. Jell-O
- Mayonnaise
- Pasta / Rice
- Peels, seeds, pits or stems from fruits or vegetables
- Salad dressings
- Sauces
- Stickers from fruits & vegetables
(or anything from the do not flush list)
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- Motor oil / transmission fluid / anti-freeze
- Nail polish or polish remover
- Paints / solvents / turpentine
Recommendation - scrape any food scraps off your plates over your garbage container and wipe each plate/pot with a napkin/paper towel before placing it in the sink or dish washer. In addition, pour all grease or oil from cooking into a glass jar, chill it in your refrigerator until it solidifies and then throw the jar out in your trash.
When one of our sewer pumping stations fails due to a foreign object or substance that someone flushes or puts down their drain, the Cassopolis Public Works Department needs to bring in a tanker truck to haul waste water from the pumping station to an appropriate disposal site on a non-stop basis - this continues until a temporary diesel generated pump arrives. The emergency pumps are very loud and intrusive but need to be kept running 24-hours per day until the
replacement parts arrive. We receive numerous complaints from residents about the noise each time this happens (the smell can be less than favorable as well).
Remember, only flush the 3 P's: pee, poop and (toilet) paper.
Our system does NOT have all of the capabilities of city sewer systems that many are accustomed to. The sewer system including all of its pumps are approaching 30-years of age so everyone needs to do their part not introduce anything other than the 3 P’s into the system.
Thank you.