Smoke Testing
Churubusco, Indiana
The Town of Churubusco was experiencing higher influent wastewater treatment plant flows during wet weather, so town officials partnered with Wessler Engineering to investigate the potential sources of infiltration and inflow (I/I).
The project consisted of smoke testing approximately 25,000 linear feet of sanitary sewers throughout eight areas north of State Road 205 and performing manhole inspections.
In its detailed report, the Wessler team provided the results of the manhole inspections and smoke testing and identified the sources of I/I in selected areas of the community. After the initial work was complete, town officials allocated an annual budget for Wessler to do additional smoke testing work. The Wessler team prepared an annual report that included:
- delineation of private and public defects
- defect location
- photographs
- rating of I/I
- prioritized list of recommended rehabilitation measures
- worksheet for town officials to utilize in tracking repair of the identified defects.
The report also described the physical attributes, structural condition and I/I potential of each manhole structure and prioritized recommendations for rehabilitation. Churubusco town officials successfully used Wessler’s recommendations to repair more than 95% of the defects identified via the smoke testing.
