A series of strikingly illustrative photographs from the removal of a massive pump blockage recently brought a spike of public attention to Charleston, South Carolina’s so-called “flushable” wipes problem.
After noticing rising levels and determining a blockage was the cause of a backup in one of its 100-foot-deep wet wells, Charleston Water System contracted a diving team to jump in and remove the blockage.
By the time a diver entered the wet well, it was nearly full of raw sewage. It took them several dives, each time hauling up a hulking monstrosity of blackened detritus.
Captured in photos, those
