Flushable wipes replaced toilet paper as concerns about shortages during the coronavirus pandemic swamped New Mexico. 

The City of Alamogordo said the change highlighted a decades-long problem: the flushing of "flushable" wipes.

Where toilet paper breaks down and will not affect wastewater or septic tanks, the wipes do not break down.

"Wipes in the pipes have been plaguing the wastewater infrastructure long before COVID-19," City of Alamogordo Water / Wastewater Operations Manager David Nunnelley said.

"The issues caused by these wipes were compounded when the pandemic began however there is more than the toilet paper shortage to blame."