Utility Services
Protecting Our Water and Sewer System
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The City of Henderson is proud to provide high quality potable (drinking) water, which meets or exceeds all federal and state water quality requirements. The City maintains more than 1,200 miles of water pipelines, and more than 920 miles of sewer pipelines. The Department's water quality laboratory collects water samples from our treatment plants every day, and conducts hundreds of tests every month.
So that the City may continue to ensure safe, high-quality drinking water for our community, we must protect our potable water distribution system and our wastewater collection system. By working together to protect our system, we can continue to ensure the safety and quality of our drinking water supply and the integrity of our system.
Proper Disposal of Fats, Oil and Grease
Oily or greasy substances improperly poured down your drain tend to stick to your pipes, and can cause sewer clogs and even raw sewage to back up into your home. Common sources of fats, oil and grease are meat trimmings, cooking oil, salad dressing and mayonnaise, melted butter, and bacon drippings. The proper way to dispose of oily or greasy liquids is to pour them into a container, such as an empty coffee can or milk carton, and place in the trash. Click here to learn how to maintain your grease interceptor.
Stop Illegal Dumping
Illegal dumping into public manholes is a harmful and potentially dangerous situation that can result in clogged or overflowing sewer lines, accumulation of toxic or explosive gases, or environmental damage. Only City employees may access manholes for maintenance or monitoring activities. An example of illegal dumping is a commercial vacuum truck dumping its contents of grease, oil, or septic tank effluent into a public manhole. Other examples are the dumping of construction materials or consumer waste. If you see potentially unauthorized dumping, please contact the Department of Utility Services Regulatory Programs Section at (702) 267-2650.
Proper Disposal of Medication
When disposing of expired or unused medication, first check with your pharmacy to see if they will take back unused prescription drugs. If they are unable to dispose of medication, you may place your unused medication in the garbage, within its original childproof container. Alter the medication in some way to discourage others from taking it, such as adding water to dissolve pills or cat litter to absorb liquid medication. Wrap foil sheets of medication in a few layers of tape. For your protection, remove any personal information from the container label.
When you flush or pour prescription, over-the-counter and veterinary medications down your drain, they end up at our wastewater treatment plant. While our plant is designed to remove many contaminants from wastewater, it may not filter out all the ingredients found in some medications. These ingredients can remain in the treated water when it is released into Lake Mead, our major source of drinking water, and may affect the living environment of the lake.
For more information on protecting our water and sewer system, contact the Customer Care Center by telephone at (702) 267-5900 or by email at cohutil@cityofhenderson.com.