It’s becoming a real “crappy” issue in Brownsburg.

The town’s water department says it is starting to see more and more masks in their systems.

Why?

Mary Louise Bewley, Brownsburg’s community engagement manager, says it might be that people are actually flushing their masks down the toilet.

“We understand if people think it’s the most sanitary thing to do with the used masks, so people try to do that,” Bewley said. “But we would ask them to not do that.”

Bewley says masks might also be getting into sewer systems by people throwing them on the ground, then wind or rain pushing them into the storm drains.

“The problem becomes when masks get caught on pipes or machine parts, and it creates problems in terms of to go in and remove all that gunk so the machines can work appropriately,” she said.

Bewley says when those masks get stuck on the equipment, it causes the equipment to fail, which could mean a sewage backup in your home, leaving you with a big mess.

She adds that the only things that belong in a toilet are toilet paper and human waste.