Smoke testing of sewer system under way in Five Points area

Residents of some intown Athens neighborhoods may be seeing, or could soon see, wisps of smoke rising from their yards, or maybe even through the plumbing vents on their homes, as Athens-Clarke County's Public Utilities Department begins inspecting all 600 miles of the county's sanitary sewer system.

The county, working through a private contractor, is "smoke testing" some sanitary sewer lines in an attempt to determine where stormwater, groundwater or other non-wastewater discharges may be entering the sewer system. Tracking down and addressing those issues can help increase the efficiency of the county's wastewater treatment operations, and can also help prevent raw sewage spills potentially caused by non-wastewater discharges entering the sewer system.

Testing is underway in the Tanyard Creek Basin, which includes parts of the University of Georgia campus and the Five Points area. The work in that area is expected to continue into next month, and the contractor will notify affected residences and businesses within 24 to 48 hours of the testing beginning in their vicinity.

Once the work in the Tanyard Creek Basin is completed, the contractor will move on to another area of the county until the entire sanitary sewer system has been inspected. A map of the area where testing is currently under way is available on the county government's website at http://bit.ly/29TZQDP.

According to that map, smoke testing or other evaluation is slated for South Lumpkin Street from downtown Athens to Bloomfield Street, along East Cloverhurst Street, along Baxter Street from Lumpkin Street to near Church Street, alongside Newton Street and part of Finley Street, and on parts of Waddell Street. On the UGA campus, testing will be done at Sanford Stadium and the immediately surrounding area.

Work began in the Tanyard Creek Basin on July 11, and is expected to be completed by the end of August.

According to a news release from the county, the smoke that may be seen coming from plumbing vent stacks on houses or holes in the ground is odorless, nontoxic, contains no carcinogens and does not represent a fire hazard. Additionally, according to the news release, the smoke is not harmful to infants or pets, and will not cause staining.

Also according to the county, the smoke should not enter buildings themselves unless there is defective plumbing or dried up drain traps. To prevent smoke from entering buildings in the affected area, pour water in drains to fill the traps, the news release directs.