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Athens City staff: smoke testing and pipe repairs cut wet‑weather flow and find no utility-owned lead service lines
Summary
City staff told the council the city’s smoke‑testing and repairs have reduced inflow and infiltration into the wastewater system, easing strain on the treatment plant, and that the city’s EPA‑required lead service line inventory found no utility‑owned lead lines but identified 509 private galvanized lines.
City staff updated the Athens City Council on the city’s wastewater collection smoke‑testing program and the EPA‑mandated lead service line inventory, saying the work has reduced peak wet‑weather flows and improved treatment‑plant operations.
A city water services staff member identified in the meeting as Dave said the treatment plant’s average dry‑weather flow is about 4.5 million gallons per day and that during significant rain events the system has surged to more than 20 million gallons per day. He credited inflow and infiltration — rainwater and groundwater entering the system through defects in pipes and manholes — for the increases and described the city’s detection and repair work.
Dave said the city started a smoke‑testing program in 2023…
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