Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 47

Don’t Clog Up Your Fun: The Truth About Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG)

Ever wonder where the leftover cooking oil goes after you fry some delicious food? Unfortunately, many people pour it down the drain, not realizing the problems it can cause. Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) are a major culprit behind clogged drains and sewer backups, leading to costly repairs and environmental issues.

Here at Fort Bend County MUD 47, we’re committed to keeping your home’s plumbing healthy and our community’s environment clean. That’s why we’re here to educate you on FOG and how to dispose of it properly.

The Problem with FOG

When you pour FOG down the drain, it cools and solidifies, clinging to the inside of your pipes. Over time, this build-up can cause:

• Slow drains: FOG clogs can make your sink, bathtub, and shower drain slowly.
• Sewer backups: If the clog gets bad enough, it can back up into your home, causing a messy and unsanitary situation.
• Environmental damage: FOG can overflow into storm drains and waterways, harming fish and wildlife.

The FOG Solution: Simple Steps for a Healthy Home and Happy Planet

Here’s the good news – avoiding these problems is easy! Just follow these simple tips for responsible FOG disposal:

• Scrape, don’t pour: Scrape excess grease, oil, and food scraps off your plates and pans before washing them. Compost the scraps if possible.
• Let it cool: Allow used cooking oil to cool completely before disposal. Never pour hot oil down the drain!
• Wipe it up: Wipe any remaining grease from pots and pans with a paper towel. Throw the paper towel in the trash.
• Collect and recycle: Save your used cooking oil in a container. Look for local restaurants or recycling centers that accept used cooking oil. You can even make biodiesel fuel from it!

Working Together for a Healthy System

By following these practices, you can help prevent costly plumbing problems for yourself and protect our community’s wastewater system. Remember, what you put down the drain doesn’t disappear – it affects everyone.

(more information available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972305386X)

Learn More:

Looking for more information? Visit https://takecareoftexas.org/about-us/blog/dont-put-down-drain for additional tips on FOG disposal and other ways to keep your home’s plumbing healthy. Together, we can create a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone.

Did You Know?

The Fort Bend County Recycling Center provides a location for  county-wide accessibility to residents for recycling of general home and home hazardous waste (HHW). The center is located at 1200 Blume Road, Rosenberg, TX 77471 and telephone number is (281)633-7581.

The Recycling Center accepts a long list of items from plastics to paper to oils to household appliances and more. On their website, instruction is given on how to present the materials and whether there is a fee related to the item.

Don’t pour that crawfish boil or fried turkey grease down the storm water drains! Used motor oil, paint, household chemicals, pesticides, pool chemicals, gasoline, and other hazardous waste are not to be disposed of in storm drains. This contaminates and pollutes our waterways and that affects us all.

If you are unsure of how to recycle or dispose of any chemicals, oils, greases, batteries, paints, household cleaners, fluorescent lighting bulbs (tubes), please visit their website or give them a call. Don’t endanger yourself and family, your household (and its plumbing), or your environment without investigating proper disposal of any item.

Looking for more information? Visit https://www.fortbendcountytx.gov/government/departments/county-services/recycling-center-hhw.

By Emily Stuckey-Treichel

Fort Bend MUD 47 (FBMUD47) will soon begin a corrugated metal pipe (CMP) Replacement Project along the Cumberland Channel and Trail which runs from the asphalt trail, past the tennis courts to Aldridge Drive. Work will be located on both sides of the channel which will impact trail access during the project. There will be large machinery and materials on site and extensive groundwork so we ask the public to respect all safety fences, barricades and warning signs. The District’s contractor estimates the project will take 1-2 weeks to complete. Inclement weather and interference by the public can lead to increased completion time.

The project is necessary to address erosion and structural failure of three CMPS. The issues are primarily a result of prolonged erosion which wears away the protective interior coating of the pipe, eventually exposing and deteriorating the metal. This allows water to escape through the pipe joints, which can lead to sinkholes and reduced drainage efficiency.

The District’s contractor will cut and remove the damaged concrete inlet structures, extracting the existing CMPs, and hauling off the debris. The contractor will then install new galvanized CMP and place cement-stabilized sand to ensure proper support. Once installation is complete, the concrete inlet structures will be re-poured to restore the original V-shape design consistent with other backslope interceptors.

Each new pipe will feature a polymer coating, providing an added layer of protection from erosion that typically doubles the service life of the pipe. To complete the work, all disturbed areas will be hydro mulched to promote vegetation reestablishment and site stabilization.

The photos below illustrate the type of work to be performed during this project.