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Fats, oil and grease clog Baton Rouge’s sewer lines, causing sewer overflows and backups that are costly and impact your quality of life.

What's the Problem?

Communities face costly and inconvenient problems with sanitary sewer systems when FOG, personal wipes, dental floss, paper towels and other items, accumulate in pipes or in pumping stations. The most common way this occurs is by flushing these items down the toilet or by pouring them down the drain. Some of the most harmful materials like wipes may claim to be flushable, but they are not and cause significant damage to the sewer system.

30%

The percent of sewer overflows caused each year by clogged pipes

2500

The amount of City-Parish sewer backup calls in 2021

$1.6B

Amount taxpayers have spent on improvements to the Baton Rouge sewer system

For Your Sewer System

What's Good

Baton Rouge tax payers have spent nearly $1.6B over the last ten years on their sanitary sewer system to improve environmental and public health, and allow for continued economic growth in the Parish. A sanitary sewer system IS GOOD when it works for your home, your wallet, and the environment.

What's Bad

Upgrades to sanitary sewer capacity or rehabilitation of existing pipes cannot stop sanitary sewer overflows that are a result of user-generated blockages. Placing the wrong items down your sink or toilet will result in a sewer system that breaks, costing you time, money and puts our environment at risk. That’s BAD.

For Your Drain or Toilet

What's Good

Water

Pee

Poop

Toilet Paper

That's It!

What's Bad

Baking/Cooking Grease

Oil-Based Sauces/Dressings

Cake Icing, Ice Cream, Butter & Lard

"Flushable" / Baby Wipes

Cotton Balls/Swabs

Food scraps

Cigarette Butts

Paper Towels and Napkins

Bandages and Bandage Wrappings

Latex or Rubber

Hair or Cosmetics

Fog Myths

Myth

You can wash grease down with dish soap.

Fact

While dish soap appears to break up grease in our sinks, it has no effect on sewer pipes. It allows grease to solidify into a soap-like deposit that forms in your plumbing or sanitary sewer lines, resulting in clogged pipes and expensive repairs.

Myth

Running hot tap water will help grease float into sewer pipes.

Fact

Running hot water does NOT help grease float. The water temperature eventually cools and the grease becomes solid again, forming soap-like deposits in your sewer pipes.

Myth

Pouring cooking oil that is liquid at room temperature is ok.

Fact

Cooking oil, such as olive and canola oil, floats on the surface of the water and reacts with sewage to form soap-like deposits that adhere to sewer pipes. It is best to avoid pouring oil down the drain altogether.

Printable Resources

FOG Brochure
FOG Poster
Multi-family FOG Poster

Help us Stop the Fog

Did you know that putting the wrong items down the sink or toilet will result in a sewer system that breaks, costs time and money, and puts our environment at risk?

The next time you’re cooking with grease, help us stop the FOG by requesting your FREE “can the grease” lid and we’ll send one your way. If you own a business in East Baton Rouge Parish and would like to show you support what’s good for our sewer system, request a FREE poster by clicking the link below.

Request a can the grease lid