San Fran to bleach sewers for toilet stink

SAN FRANCISCO, March 1 (UPI) -- San Francisco officials said $14 million is being spent on bleach to deal with sludge backups from low-flow toilets.

Tyrne Jue, a spokesman or the city Public Utilities Commission, said the city is spending $14 million on a three-year supply of highly concentrated sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach, to disinfect the sewers and take care of the odors brought on by low-flow toilets, which use less water than traditional commodes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

Jue said the toilets, which previously led to a $100 million refit of the city's sewer system and sewage plants, have cut the city's water consumption by about 20 million gallons annually.

Adam Lowry, a San Francisco blogger focused on ecological issues, said he is leading a "Don't Bleach our Bay" campaign to convince the city to cancel the bleach plans in favor of using hydrogen peroxide or a solution that would naturally break down the offending bacteria.