What Is A Smoke Test Anyway? |
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(In the photo at left, a high-capacity blower pumps smoke into a manhole. If you look closely to the left of the green blower, you can see smoke emerging through a crack in the street. In the photo at right, smoke pushed into the system by the blower emerges from a storm drain) |
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A smoke test is the process of pumping thick white smoke into a local sewer line to see where it comes out. If the sewer is in good condition--that is, no breaks or cracks in the line--then the smoke should come out at the distant end. However, if the line is in poor condition or in need of repair, the smoke will find the break and try to escape that way. In those cases you may see smoke issuing up from peculiar places such as cracks in the street or even your front yard! Field technicians walk (or sometimes jog!) around to find and mark the places smoke escapes so those defects can be repaired. |