City to study sanitary sewer line breaches that lead to backups
Does water oftentimes backup into your basement during heavy rainfall? The city is looking into why that may occur.
Plans are underway to conduct an inflow and infiltration study on the city’s sanitary sewer system. It will examine the impacts to the line and identify areas where excess water is entering the system. Periodically, surge events caused by heavy rainfall can overwhelm the wastewater treatment plant and occasionally lead to spills into the North Saskatchewan River as well as sewage backups in unprotected basements. Excess water can seep into the system from old or cracked manhole covers and pipes.
The study will advise the city on where improvements can be made to reduce upgrading costs at the wastewater treatment plant and other expenses incurred from flooding.
Jeff Da Silva, the city’s engineering services manager, said a common issue that leads to basement backflows is when residents unknowingly have weeping tile tied directly into the sanitary line.