Clearing the air

You’ve probably heard or read about the City’s plan to do smoke testing in town this summer. The questions most commonly asked are “What is smoke-testing?” and “What does smoke-testing accomplish?”

The City has an extensive underground matrix of sewer lines that carry sewage from homes and businesses to the St. Johns Wastewater Treatment plant for treatment. Sewer pipes and lines are difficult to monitor for cracks and breaks because of their underground location. Smoke-testing is an effective method for discovering defects in sewer lines, manholes and clean-outs. Smoke-testing also helps reveal residences and businesses that may have improper connections of sump pump lines, weep tiles and roof drains to the sanitary sewer system.

It all boils down to this: if the City sewer lines have breaks in them, storm water which seeps into the ground may eventually infiltrate the sanitary lines through cracks and breaks, increasing the volume of water that gets treated at the treatment plant. Storm water is clean, and does not need treatment. Excessive storm water in the sanitary sewer lines means unnecessary chemical and biological treatment at the plant which is an unnecessary expense and burdens the equipment. Excessive infiltration of storm water into the sanitary sewer system during heavy weather events can potentially cause back-ups. For all these reasons the State of Michigan now requires communities to address this inflow and infiltration issue. For the City of St. Johns, that means identifying breaks, cracks and defects in the sewer lines as well as locating other sources of inflow of storm water into our sanitary sewer system such as sump pump lines and roof drain connections.

Improper connections of private sump pump lines, drain tiles and the like add to the storm water infiltration and inflow problem. Again, storm water is being sent into the sanitary sewer pipes and down to the wastewater treatment plant for unnecessary treatment. Such connections are actually in violation of city ordinance (See City code section 53.25) and therefore are unlawful. The bottom line is these illegal connections add to the problems of storm water receiving expensive, unnecessary chemical and biological treatment at the plant and the overburdening of the wastewater treatment facility.

Testing these underground lines by using non-toxic white smoke is a detection device for the problems previously discussed. Smoke is forced into the lines at specific locations. The smoke will escape and be observable wherever there are line breaks and improper connections. Problems will then be identified and addressed as discovered through the smoke-testing. Because the City has so much underground sanitary sewer piping, this project will take several months to complete. The City, through a contractor, expects to begin smoke-testing on July 20 and continue into September until all neighborhoods have been covered.

It is highly unlikely this non-toxic smoke testing will cause problems for the public. Residents can prevent smoke from entering their homes by making sure all plumbing traps have water in them. Just run water for a few seconds in any sink, shower or tub area that gets little use to create a water seal in the U joint of the pipe. In the unlikely event smoke enters the home it should be dispersed simply by opening windows and doors to create air flow.

It is worth noting that this method of testing underground lines has been used successfully for many years all across Michigan and beyond. It is rare for the smoke to cause residents problems. Those folks who use oxygen to assist in breathing, or have other serious respiratory problems, should contact Wastewater Plant supervisor Steven Martin at 989-224-8944, ext. 230 or cell # 517-490-8352 for more information and required assistance.