Education With a Wink: Norfolk Sewer’s Posts Find Their Audience
Crew crafts cinematic wastewater must-reads
By the Norfolk Sewer District
Every town has its traditions. Some have parades. Some have festivals. Here in Norfolk, we have … wastewater updates on Facebook. This is not a typo or glitch. This is a fully committed, once-a-week situation.
If you’ve ever opened the Norfolk Sewer District Facebook page on a Wednesday and thought, “This feels like a movie … but I’m also being warned about flushing things I definitely own,” then congratulations—you’ve found “Wastewater Wednesday.”
It all began on Jan. 29, 2020, with a simple, responsible mission: to explain wastewater. Where it goes. How it works. What exactly we do here at the sewer district all day. It was a noble effort. A necessary effort. An effort that lasted approximately five minutes before someone said, “What if we added fun references?”
And just like that … we lost control of the situation.
Photo courtesy of Facebook.
Somewhere behind the scenes an unnamed (but clearly committed and running on caffeine and movie quotes) film buff decided wastewater education deserved the full cinematic treatment. Not some quick reference—we’re talking themes, pacing, suspense and the occasional line that sounds like it should echo through a theater (instead of being read while standing in line at the coffee shop).
The result: a weekly post that confidently struts the line between “important municipal information” and “this has no business being this entertaining.”
Over time, a few traditions have formed. There are running jokes. There are callbacks. There are moments where we absolutely promise we’re not going to talk about the pipes … and then immediately take a hard turn right back to them. Long-time readers know to look for those little gems. New readers usually hit paragraph three and think, “Why am I this invested in wastewater?”
We ask ourselves the same question every week.
The most viewed installment so far was posted on Dec. 24, 2024, as a full holiday tribute to the film “Die Hard.” It somehow managed to turn sewer infrastructure into a high-stakes Christmas event. It had everything: tension, timing and just enough chaos to make people pause mid-cookie to ask, “Am I reading about a great Christmas movie or a clog-free collection system?” The answer, somehow, was both. For one glorious day, wastewater was the most dramatic thing happening between presents.
But the real payoff isn’t the page views, it’s the people. It’s the neighbor who mentions it in passing. It’s a comment from someone who came for the joke and accidentally learned something. To us, it’s equal parts surprising and genuinely humbling. It works, and it’s the reason we keep doing this every single Wednesday.
May (the) 4th is coming—and things are about to get aggressively galactic (cue the John Williams music). Here’s a sneak peek at this week’s set-up.
In a town not so far away, a quiet struggle continues just below the surface. Residents, armed with misplaced confidence and items that absolutely should not be involved, test the limits of the system. Meanwhile, a small group of operators stands ready, doing everything possible to maintain balance in a world where balance is optimistic, at best.
The Force is under pressure. The stakes are high. The usual suspects—yes, still with the wipes—are once again making bold choices. And somewhere, deep within the system, a disturbance is felt. Not a dramatic shift, but slow and concerning. It makes everyone stop, look at one other, and say, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
This week, “Wastewater Wednesday” goes full space opera. Expect dramatic narration. Expect heroic efforts. Expect a battle between order and chaos … with plumbing. There may be a chosen one. There may be a villain. There will absolutely be a moment where we almost explain how everything works and then get distracted by something cooler.
Will balance be restored? Will the system prevail? Will someone finally look at a paper towel and think, “These aren’t the wipes I’m looking for?” We remain cautiously optimistic.
We won’t spoil the ending, but if you’ve been following along, you already know this will be a don’t-miss post. So, this Wednesday, head to the Norfolk Sewer District Facebook page. Come for the laughs, stay for the movie references and leave with a slightly healthier respect for what happens after you flush.
Because in Norfolk, even the underground has a storyline. And on Wednesdays, it has absolutely no reason to be this entertaining.
