Test will affect area north of Adams, west of Bison
Beginning Thursday, Aug. 18, the City of Bartlesville will perform a smoke test of the sanitary sewer system in the area north of Adams Boulevard and west of Bison Road.
The testing is necessary to help detect defects within the system, said Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen.
“The test is to identify any defects or improper connections on the sanitary sewer system that contribute to heavy wet weather flows and collection system overflows,” Lauritsen said.
During smoke testing activities, City crews will introduce non-toxic smoke through manholes into the sewer system under moderate pressure using smoke blowers. The area is then observed for smoke emitting from defective areas.
“This is a tool that we use to identify defects in the wastewater collection system as well as in private service lines that connect to that system,” Lauritsen said, noting that the goal of the testing is to eliminate inflow and infiltration in the City’s wastewater system.
“Our system is not what they call a ‘dual system’ — it’s only designed to carry wastewater flows. Storm water infiltration kind of wreaks havoc with that in that it overwhelms the capacity of the system and creates backups and some other things that result from it.”
Crews will be on-site to document any defects discovered. Any smoke that comes inside a building should be reported to a crew member, who will investigate.
“Citizens might notice City employees monitoring smoke that could be coming from various locations including homes, yards and the storm drainage system,” Lauritsen said.
The test is expected to take several weeks, depending on weather. For more information, call 918.338.4134 or 918.338.4116.