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Barnesville to perform smoke testing on sewer system July 8

BARNESVILLE – The village of Barnesville Water Department with the assistance of the Ohio Rural Water Association will be smoke testing the sanitary sewer system on N. Lincoln Ave., Cherry St., the north end of N. Arch St., Grey Lane, Plumly Drive, High St., Mil-Cow Lane, Watt Ave., and Euclid Ave. on July 8, weather permitting.

The smoke test is designed to find illegal connections to the sanitary sewer system such as footer drains, downspouts and sump pumps that create major flow problems in the system when rain occurs and have even created flooding in some neighborhoods. These illegal connections are a major contributor to surplus inflow and infiltration (I & I) being dumped into the system and creating problems for residents not only in the vicinity but further down stream as well. This additional I & I must be treated upon reaching the wastewater treatment plant requiring additional chemicals and energy. The additional treatment requirements create a burden not only to the plant as far as maximum limits but also to each resident of Barnesville in the form of additional cost for treatment being reflected in their monthly sewer bills.

The village is asking residents to please be aware of this test date as smoke could infiltrate residents homes. The village sanitary sewer lines will be filled with a machine made smoke via the manholes throughout the area. Crews will then check to see if smoke is rising from resident’s downspouts or from around their foundations. This harmless smoke could enter the home through basement floor drains if proper traps were not installed when the home was built. These traps are standard plumbing installation procedures that are designed to prevent sewer gas from entering the residence. If you are aware that these traps do not exist in your residence, then you may want to plug the floor drains on this date to keep this situation from occurring. Traps that do exist should be filled with water to full capacity. Pictures will be taken of any violations and residents will be notified if they have illegal connections to the sanitary sewer system.

Anyone with questions regarding this matter may contact the water department at 740-425-3672 or the village administrator at 740-425-1880.

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