YOU AND I & I
(INFLOW & INFILTRATION) There are two problems most people don’t know about until there’s a backup in the sewer system and raw sewage spills
What you can do to help prevent this … •
INSPECT your rain gutters, downspouts, and yard drains to see if they are connected to your sanitary sewer lateral. Such connections are illegal.
•
CHECK your sewer clean out (call a plumber if you are not sure where yours is). Make sure the cap to the clean out pipe is on and has not been damaged. Replace missing caps; otherwise, rain can get into the sewer line.
•
AVOID planting trees and shrubs, which can cause damage to your lateral, above or near the sewer lateral that runs from your home to the street.
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REPLACE your sewer lateral if you have persistent problem with root intrusion or frequent blockages.
into the street, a home or business. Those two problems are called “inflow” and “infiltration.”
Inflow into sewer pipes can occur through rain falling
directly into open drains that are connected to the system, or through surface drains, such as rain gutters being
illegally connected to the collection system. By comparison, infiltration occurs when groundwater enters the sanitary sewer pipes through cracks and leaking joints. A vast
majority of the infiltration contribution is from faulty private
• Consider having the sewer lateral video inspected when purchasing a home to avoid surprises in the future.
sewer laterals throughout the City.
So why is this important? The added flow that these
two items create can increase the volume of water in the collection system by a whopping 566%. This not only
increases costs for treatment because of increased volume of water flowing through the system to the wastewater
treatment plant, but it can also cause sewage overflows.
On average, about 4.5 million gallons of water flow through the collection system every day during the dry season. But inflow and infiltration can increase that to about 20 million gallons during a storm event.
What does this mean for you? Aside from the potential for sewage to spill into your business or home, the current and future cost to treat relatively clean water as wastewater is considerable. Planned upgrades to the Water Reclamation Facility include adding capacity to treat this water, which will affect your future sewer rate.
Please call (805) 781-7215 with any questions or for more information.
HIGHLIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE:
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Your Dollars at Work Great Time To Plant Winter Stormwater Tips New Sewer Cap Improved Utility Billing | Rainy Season is Coming
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Winter 2013 Volume 17, Issue 1