SMOKE TESTING

SMOKING ON THE JOB

A LITTLE HISTORY

• ORIGINALLY INSTALLED IN 1958-1959

• ORIGINAL DESIGN CAPACITY OF 2500 PEOPLE

• 500 GPM PUMPING CAPACITY

• ABOUT 18 ACRES OF PONDS

• POPULATION OF 2000 IN 1960

CURRENT SYSTEM• 1800 GPM PUMPING CAPACITY

• NEARLY 30 ACRES OF PONDS

• 250 GPM STAND-BY GAS POWERED PUMP

• CURRENT POPULATION IS 1,129

NORMAL FLOWS

• NORMAL FLOW IS ABOUT 60 GALLONS A DAY PER PERSON

• LAST MONTH WE PROCESSED 1.8 MILLION GALLONS WHICH IS ABOUT 55 GPD/PERSON

• THERE WAS NO RAIN LAST MONTH AND WATER TABLES ARE LOW

MARCH MADNESS 2010

• 26 MILLION GALLONS DURING MARCH OF THIS YEAR

• 2.5 MILLION GALLONS ON MARCH 27TH

• 2200 GALLONS PER PERSON THAT DAY

• OR A NORMAL DAILY FLOW FOR A TOWN OF 41,000 PEOPLE

• WELL BEYOND DESIGN CAPACITY

• PONDS OVERFLOWED INTO WOLF CREEK

SO WHAT, WHO CARES?

• RESIDENTS ON HOT SPRINGS ROAD CARE, SOME ARE UNABLE TO USE FACILITIES THEY’RE PAYING FOR AND WASTE WATER HAS OVERFLOWED INTO THIER HOUSES.

• PEOPLE DOWNSTREAM CARE, RAW SEWAGE FLOWED IN TO THEIR SWIMMING HOLES, WHERE THEIR PETS AND CHILDREN PLAY. IN SOME CASES, INTO THEIR DRINKING WATER SOURCE.

SO WHAT, WHO CARES?

• THE STATE CARES, ITS THEIR JOB TO PROTECT THE STATES WATER, THEY DO THIS BY ISSUING VIOLATIONS THAT USUALLY INCLUDE FINES.

• WE HAVE BEEN ISSUED 8 NOTICES OF VIOLATION SINCE 1993 AND 3-4 PREVIOUS TO THAT.

• WE HAVE HAD THREE VIOLATIONS IN THE LAST YEAR.

SO WHAT, WHO CARES?

• WE SHOULD CARE, WE HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR POLLUTING WOLF CREEK

• UTILITY COSTS OF PUMPING ALL THE EXTRA WATER

• ADDITIONAL WEAR ON EQUIPMENT COSTS MONEY

• SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES OUR ABILITY TO FUNCTION DURING POWER OUTAGES

INFLOW AND INFILTRATION

• INFILTRATION- Groundwater entering the collection system through defective pipe. Relatively constant flow rate.

• INFLOW- Surface water entering the collection system as a result of rainwater, snow melt etc. Flow rate varies with runoff.

• WE HAVE BOTH

THIS IS NOT NEW NEWS• IN 1979 THE STATE IDENTIFIED I&I AS THE ROOT

CAUSE OF A OVERFLOW AND SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION

• IN 1989 THE STATE ORDERED THE DISTRICT TO CONDUCT CAMERA INSPECTIONS AND SMOKE TESTING OF THE SYSTEM AFTER ANOTHER FAILURE

• THESE INSPECTIONS WERE CONDUCTED IN AN ISOLATED AREA AND WERE COMPLETED IN 1993

• VERY FEW REPAIRS WERE MADE AND THE MAJORITY OF THE INFLOW WAS ATTRIBUTED TO A SINGLE OPEN CLEANOUT DISCOVERED IN A LOW LYING AREA

MORE RECENT HISTORY• AFTER 1993 RECORDED FLOWS WERE CLOSER TO

NORMAL UNTIL LATE 2001 WHEN THEY SUDDENLY TRIPLED

• IN JANUARY 2006, AN INFILTRATION INSPECTION WAS CONDUCTED AND NEARLY 150 GPM OF INFILTRATION FLOWS WERE IDENTIFIED

• THAT AMOUNTS TO 216,000 GALLONS A DAY WHEN WATER TABLES ARE HIGH, NOT MUCH COMPARED TO THE 2,500,000 GALLONS MENTIONED EARLIER

• STILL NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, 4 MILLION GALLONS A MONTH IS NEEDLESSLY PROCESSED

2009 I&I STUDY• IN MARCH 2009 WE INSPECTED THE LINES

WITH A VIDEO CAMERA, THE FINDINGS AGREED WITH THE 2006 STUDY. MOST OF THE INFILTRATION WAS ORIGINATING FROM LATERALS

• WE CONDUCTED A STUDY COMPARING METERED WATER USEAGE WITH SEWER FLOWS AND RAINFALL

2009 I&I STUDY

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.12

0.14

0.16

0.18

13

-No

v

14

-No

v

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

1-D

ec

2-D

ec 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

BASELINE FLOWS

WATER USEAGE-MG

SEWAGE PUMPED-MG

RAINFALL-INCHES

2009 I&I STUDY

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

February 2009

rain fall inches

gallons pumped MG

water usage MG

2009 I&I STUDY

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6

Storm February March 2009

rain fall inches

gallons pumped mg

water usage MG

IN THE NUMBERS• OUR I&I AMOUNTS TO 1000%

• 300% – 500% IS TYPICAL HIGH NUMBERS

• WE KNOW WHERE SOME OF THE INFILTRATIONS ARE

• WE HAD NO WAY TO LOCATE THE INFLOWS

• CALIFORNIA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION PROVIDED A SMOKE TESTER TO LOCATE THE INFLOWS

THE PROCESS• THE SMOKER BLOWS SMOKE INTO A

MANHOLE

• THE SMOKE WILL EMIT FROM ANY OPENING IN THE SEWER LINES

• WATER FILLED P-TRAPS KEEP THE SMOKE, AND DANGEROUS SEWER GASES, FROM ENTERING HOMES

• INSPECT EVERY SEWER LINE

WHAT WE FOUND

TOTALS• 138 POINTS ON INTRUSION

• 33 OPEN CLEAN-OUTS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY

• ONE MANHOLE WITH HOLE CUT IN IT

• 78 MANHOLES ON OLD SYSTEM

• 27 DISTRICT CLEAN-OUTS ON OLD SYSTEM

NOW WHAT?

• NOTIFY ALL PROPERTY OWNERS

OF THE ISSUES ON THEIR

PROPERTY

• TAKE STEPS TO MITIGATE ALL

INFLOWS IN DISTRICT ROD

HOLES AND MANHOLES

• REPAIR KNOW INFILTRATION

POINTS