Eventually, but not in the amount of time and distance traveled to get to the water treatment facility.

Paper towels are designed to be strong when wet, if they weren't then they wouldn't be very good at helping you clean. Items that don't break down into small pieces when placed in water do not belong in your drains.

Paper towels will twist and clump up with other items in the sewer system to create a large blockage that can damage pumps and requires constant clean-out.

Here is a great video demonstrating how each common household item either does or doesn't break down when flushed.

One paper towel flushed by one person in itself may seem insignificant, but there are around 7 million people in North Texas, that is a lot of potential clogs. If everyone thinks it is just them, then all of a sudden you have hundreds of thousands of paper towels and wipes being flushed into a system that wasn't designed to take those items.

Our North Texas water districts are reporting huge clumps of wipes, paper towels, tampons, and other items causing problems daily. This gets expensive and the cost gets passed on to residents through their water bill.

Rather than use a paper towel or paper napkin, use a wash cloth, dish rag, or linen napkin. These are reusable and function better than their paper counterparts. They will also save you money in the long run.

When you do use paper towels, place them in the trash when you are done with them.

Note: we do recommend using paper towels to wipe greasy pots, pans, and plates. You would not want to use a regular towel for this because it will eventually go in the wash. We want to keep grease out of our drains too.