City of Konawa

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Precautionary Boil Order Issued 5/18/2012 - Click for Details

SMOKE TESTING – KONAWA SEWER LINES

Konawa Public Works Authority and Oklahoma Rural Water Association will be conducting a smoke test of the sanitary sewer system for the next few months.  Testing will take place between the hours of 7:30 am and 4:00 pm. Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality per a Consent Order has required testing of the lines due to higher sewer flows in the area during periods of heavy rainfall. The smoke testing procedure will help identify potential sources of stormwater inflow or infiltration into the sanitary sewer system.  This program requires smoke testing the sanitary sewer mains and house lateral connections to find leaks.   A white vapor (smoke) is blown into the sewer main and will exit thru deficiencies in the system. Such deficiencies are missing or broken clean outs, storm drains connected to sewer lines, down spouts connected, or cracks in sewer mains, etc.

The City will be notifying the residents of Konawa via their new phone notification system the day the testing begins.  It will take several days to complete the testing in the areas that will be tested. 

Work crews will test several hundred feet of sanitary sewer main at one time. The total time to smoke test one section of sewer main is about 15 to 20 minutes. Smoke may be seen coming from roof vents, building foundations, or manhole covers. The smoke will not enter your home if the home is properly plumbed and vented and water traps contain water.

The most frequent way smoke will enter your house is through dry traps. A trap is located under most drains whether it is a sink or a floor drain. The purpose of a trap is to "trap" water and create a seal between the sink and the rest of the plumbing system to prevent odors entering your house. Running water for approximately 10 seconds or pouring a gallon of water in a drain will be enough to assure the trap is full. The smoke is a non-toxic, odorless substance which is clean and harmless to humans, pets, food, and material goods.  However, if a resident does notice smoke in their home they should open windows and doors to allow the smoke to disperse.  Please avoid unnecessary exposure to the smoke. The smoke is relatively harmless but smoke of any kind can be irritating to the nasal passages for some people. If you experience smoke irritation, it should be temporary and quickly disappear after exposure has ceased. If you or any member of your family have a health condition that you feel we need to be aware of please contact 580-925-3775 Ext 200. 

If traces of the smoke or its odor enter the building, it is an indication that gases from the sewer system may also be entering a building.  City of Konawa would like to stress the importance of correcting the problem. The smoke entering their building is their friend. If smoke is entering their home or business, DANGEROUS gases could be entering as well. The smoke that is manufactured specifically for testing is not dangerous or toxic, leaves no residuals or stains, and has no effects on plants or animals. It has a distinctive, but not unpleasant, odor. The visible smoke and odor will only last for a few minutes, where there is adequate ventilation. Sewer gases are dangerous! A few of these gases have no odor and present the most serious problem because they can enter a building undetected. These gases can cause anything from minor illness to death. Identifying and correction of the source of any smoke entering a building is urgently advised.

The smoke testing work crews will be looking for leaks in the line.  The crews will be noting the location of the leak as well as taking pictures of the issue.  If the leaks are in the city main lines the City crews will repair the leaks.  If the leaks are in the citizen’s line, the city will be notifying residents of the need to repair the lines per city code and the consent order issued to the city from ODEQ. 

City and county emergency dispatchers will also be notified in advance of the smoke testing to abate false alarm calls from the general public .

For more information please contact Rita LoPresto, Konawa City Manager at 580-925-3775 Ext 201.

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Last modified: May 18, 2012