The Charleston (S.C.) Water System sent scuba divers down approximately 90 ft into raw sewage to pull out wipes that clogged the system. The Charleston Water System shared tweets on Monday from the project to clean the wipes from the sewer system.
According to the Idaho Statesman, wet wipes have caused problems for sewer systems around the world. In 2015, the New York Times reported that water and sewer officials in New York had to spend $18 million dollars over five years just on wet-wipe sewer problems.
According to the Daily Mail, the U.K.’s environmental minister said he wanted to ban wet wipes earlier this year. The sewer in the U.K. overflows into the Thames River has left mounds of wet wipes in the river as it flows through London.
The Sydney, Australia Water Authority won a $700,000 penalty from an Australian company that marketed wet wipes as “flushable” but still clogged the sewer system, according to Sydney Water. According to Sydney Water, it removes 500 tons of wet wipes from its sewer system every year.