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Madison Daily Leaderhome : news : news : top stories
City to conduct smoke tests on underground pipes
By CHUCK CLEMENT, Staff Reporter 07/14/2009
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Chad Comes
The city of Madison and engineering consultants will use smoke testing to check parts of the municipal sanitary sewer system for leaks and other defects for a six-week period that should start next week. City Engineer Chad Comes presented information about the project during Monday's city commission meeting and explained why Ulteig Engineers would conduct inflow and infiltration tests in the northeast section of Madison.



Comes said the smoke testing should help the engineers find leaks in underground pipes that allow storm water to enter the city's sanitary sewer system and cause flow problems.

Leaks in underground pipes can create system overloading that leads to sewer backups and higher costs for wastewater treatment.

According to Comes, city employees would provide as much information as possible to the public about the smoke tests so residents would not become overly alarmed. During the tests, residents might see smoke bleeding out from cracks and holes in the pavement or ground or escaping from vent stacks on houses.

The smoke tests should only last for a few hours in each Madison neighborhood.

Comes told commissioners that the smoke should not enter residents' homes unless they have defective plumbing or dry drain traps. He also assured them that the test smoke was nontoxic, odorless and offered no fire hazard.

Residents can vent the smoke by opening windows or doors, but they should avoid extended contact with it. Excessive exposure can cause respiratory irritation in humans.

The city will make more public announcements about the smoke tests, and workers will hang written notices on the doors of homes in the neighborhoods that are tested.

While the tests are under way, residents should pour one to two pints of water into their basement floor drains, sink traps and other plumbing fixtures to keep the smoke out of homes. Drain traps should always be filled with water to prevent sewer gas and other odors from entering buildings.

Homeowners could discover that many washing machine drains do not have traps. In order to prevent smoke from entering buildings from cracks around washing machine drain pipes, individuals should tie damp rags around the drain opening.

If residents discover that smoke has entered their homes, they should contact a licensed plumber because the same leaks could allow dangerous sewer gas to seep into buildings. They can also contact the Ulteig engineers performing the smoke tests or call the Madison Public Works Office at 256-7515.


©Madison Daily Leader 2010
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