In Waterloo, Iowa, the city has hired consultants to help find a leak in its sanitary sewer lines.
Waste Management Services Director Steve Hoambrecker said ft-long carp are showing up at the wastewater treatment plant when the Cedar River level surges above 16 ft.
“When the river goes up our flows go up at the plant,” Hoambrecker said to The Courier. “When the river gets to a certain height, we have fish showing up.”
Hoambrecker said the likely source of river water entering the sanitary sewer system would be connections or leakage in the interceptor sewer lines running along both sides of the Cedar River from downtown to the Easton Avenue treatment plant.
According to The Courier, the 48- to 60-in. diameter sewer pipes parallel the river, with the east side interceptor routes at times along the west side of the flood levee system. The sanitary sewer infiltration drives up the city’s expense to treat the additional water entering the system.
The City Council members have approved a $19,995 contract with RJN Group Inc. to inspect 65 manholes along the east- and west-side interceptors and another 47 manholes in the 100-year flood plain, according to The Courier. Members also have approved a $117,615 contact with RedZone Robitics Inc. to evaluate approximately 20,660 ft of the interceptor sewer pipes.
“We did a pilot test [with RedZone] in October and found out there were a lot of problems,” Hoambrecker said to The Courier. “Now we want to do the whole thing. This is just one of those crucial things that need to be done.”
According to The Courier, information collected by the manhole and sewer line inspections will be evaluated. The results will than be evaluated by engineers to determine how to fix the problems.
A long-term capital improvement program for the city’s sanitary sewer collection system and treatment plant was developed as part of a consent decree the city signed with the U.S. Department of Justice, according to The Courier. The decree avoided legal action the federal government was going to bring against Waterloo for sanitary sewer overflows.
