Engineers Identify Municipal Sewer Pressure as Likely Source of Odors at Renaissance North; District Pursuing Fixes

Esme Wilson, a district staff member, told the Francis Howell School District Board of Education on July 17 that air monitors placed at Renaissance North have not detected hazardous gases and that recent engineering data points to pressure in the municipal sewer system as the most likely source of intermittent sewer odors in the building.

Wilson said the district has operated 10 air monitors for months and “they still have not read any, any dangerous elements in the building.” She reported occasional VOCs traced to janitorial waxing and propane-powered scrubbers, and said hydrogen sulfide and methane (LEL) readings have not been recorded.

The district also repaired roughly three minor plumbing breaks identified by smoke testing and re-tested the piping; the repairs eliminated any open plumbing pathways from the building interior, Wilson said. Engineers then installed manometers on five rooftop plumbing vents and recorded pressure…