Arcadia, FL - Project Overview

Wade and Associates, on behalf of Boyle Engineering and the City of Arcadia, FL, is conducting a comprehensive sanitary sewer evaluation survey of the City's wastewater collection system.  The City's collection system contains approximately 200,000 lineal feet (38 miles) of sewer that dates back to the 1920's.  The current system is experiencing wastewater bypasses, SSOs and backups due to extreme wet-weather conditions.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and eliminate 'Inflow/Infiltration' (I/I) defects related to extreme wet-weather conditions and reduce the frequency of sanitary sewer overflows and backups in the City's wastewater collection system.

Field investigations include smoke testing, manhole inspections, and CCTV Inspection. 

A typical SSES (Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Study) may consist of all or some of the following parts:

Flow Monitoring: In order to determine the volume of water flowing through a sewer pipe, the flow must be monitored and measured. Once this is done, the resulting data is used to build a computer model of flows through the entire sewer system. This model is highly useful in determining areas of stress and other problems in the sewer system.

Manhole Inspections: Fifty percent or more of water entering into the sewer system, and overloading the sewer pipes, enters through manhole structures. During these inspections, our trained field inspectors survey all manhole structures and components for defects, as well as incoming and outgoing sewer lines.

Visual Pipe Inspections: Commonly called 'lamping,' this is the process of entering a manhole and using a light and mirror to visually examine all sewer pipes entering and exiting the manhole to identify early signs of pipe deterioration, root intrusion, deposition and other defects.

Smoke Tests: Smoke testing is used to augment the manhole and visual pipe inspections. Smoke testing (often referred to as a rainfall simulation test) is used to detect I/I sources in both the private and public sectors sewer lines. Smoke testing is performed by placing a smoke generator into the intake chamber of a high-capacity blower placed over an isolated sewer pipe. Field crews monitoring the area document locations where smoke escapes the system at some defect or I/I source. Although not a defect, one common escape route for smoke is the vent pipe: this is the pipe emerging from the roof of a private dwelling that allows the escape of sewer gasses before they enter the residence. The smoke that can be seen coming from  vent pipes or rising from areas in the ground is: 

NON-TOXIC, HARMLESS, ODORLESS, AND CREATES
NO FIRE HAZARD

Building Surveys: Smoke testing alone cannot confirm every possible I/I defect on a property. For this reason building surveys are conducted to detect and/or confirm potential I/I sources. During a building survey, crews examine private property for evidence of defects in the sewer line connections, called 'service laterals.' Such defects can lead to unwanted and potentially dangerous influx of gasses into residences. Such surveys are conducted with minimal disturbance to building residents and owners; special provisions are made to assure homeowners and occupants of the legitimacy of the survey and to communicate the importance of the information needed.

CCTV Inspections: This process involves transporting a closed-circuit TV camera through a sewer pipe. Engineers and technicians view the resulting footage and glean valuable data on conditions of the sewer pipe.

Dyed-Water Testing: Sometimes a simple visual inspection of a suspect I/I source cannot confirm if the source is connected to the sewer system. In this case, crews will introduce dyed-water into the suspect source. If dyed water shows up in the sewer system, the leak will be confirmed. This makes identifying leaks and breaks in the pipe much easier to identify.

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