As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, the buzz around the infamous ‘Big Flush’ annually resurfaces. But is it true? Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric is here to set the record straight.
The ‘Big Flush’ refers to the urban legend that football fans collectively use the bathroom during the Super Bowl halftime, putting such strain on the sewer systems that they risk bursting. This myth originated after the 1984 Super Bowl in Salt Lake City, where a 16-inch water main broke that day. While it’s a fun story, rest assured, our sewer systems here in Colorado are more than capable of handling any halftime rush. Phew!
In Denver, the Wastewater Management Division ensures the city’s robust sewer infrastructure remains efficient and reliable. This includes more than 1,500 miles of sanitary sewers and 800 miles of storm drainage systems. These systems combined with Metro Water Recovery, the Rocky Mountain West’s largest wastewater treatment provider, can easily manage up to 220 million gallons of water per day, with an average of 130 million gallons treated daily.
So, what about the Super Bowl halftime rush? It’s no different than the typical weekday morning, when millions of Americans are showering, brushing their teeth, and getting ready for the day. The infrastructure is built to handle these demands, and much more. The average person flushes the toilet five times a day. To ensure your toilets remain in service during the biggest game of the year, be sure not to use disposable waste products, use less toilet paper and only flush human waste.
According to Applewood, a bigger concern is likely your game-day celebrations that can result in overloaded garbage disposals and excess waste down the drain that can clog your plumbing. To avoid running into plumbing issues during the Super Bowl, Applewood recommends scraping party scraps into the trash rather than down your sink or left to the dishwasher to clear, even with a built in garbage disposal.
Applewood recommends resolving plumbing issues early. Game day should be about touchdowns, not toilets or clogging plumbing.
