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City outlines sewer maintenance programs and new acoustic SLRAT tool to reduce backups
Summary
Engineering and Public Utilities staff described the five-year sewer cleaning cycle, SLRAT acoustic assessments, smoke testing, root control and point-repair programs, and reported investment and staffing for routine maintenance.
City engineering and public utilities staff presented a summary of the city’s sanitary-sewer maintenance programs and a new diagnostic tool to the Mayor and Board of Commissioners.
Jason (presenter, Engineering) and Brooke (presenter, Public Utilities) outlined a multi-element maintenance program that includes a five-year cycle to clean every sewer main, flow monitoring, smoke testing, contracted video-inspection, a root-control chemical-treatment program and a point-repair capital program. Jason said the city maintains roughly 298 miles of sewer main and about 5,258 manholes (transcript figures) and that annual CIP contracts for inspection and repairs are approximately $900,000.
Staff described the Sewer Line Rapid Assessment Tool (SLRAT), an acoustic device that uses a transmitter and receiver to assess blockage risk in real time. The SLRAT assessment of the entire city was completed at no cost through OMAG, staff said, and the vendor also loaned equipment for follow-up work. "We will use that to help guide our sewer cleaning program," Jason said.
Other maintenance details included routine cleaning by Public Utilities crews, planned acquisition of a new vacuum truck (expected delivery in November) and a root-control program that treats approximately 100,000 feet per year and has an industry-reported success rate of roughly 98.6% over a 21-year record. Staff said the point-repair program typically addresses about 50 problem locations each year identified by video inspection or other diagnostics.
Staff framed the investments as cost-effective: engineering staff reported that average daily flows at the treatment plant are lower than two decades ago (about 8–8.5 million gallons per day now versus roughly 10.5 million gallons per day previously), which staff attributed in part to fixing leaking joints and other collection-system improvements.
No formal action was taken. Staff asked the commission to note ongoing capital spending, the new diagnostic SLRAT data and planned equipment acquisitions as part of regular maintenance and system-resilience efforts.
