Posted on: Saturday, July 24, 2004

CITY GOVERNMENT
City to use smoke to test Kailua sewer lines for leaks

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

The city will begin smoke-testing sewer lines in Kailua next week in an effort to pinpoint leaks that allow storm water to enter the sewer system and cause spills.

A non-toxic, odorless smoke will be injected into various manholes, and as it travels down the main pipe and through laterals to homes, smoke will be visible where there are breaks or leaks in the system. If the breaks are on private land, homeowners will be notified and will be responsible for the repair, said Lori Kahikina-Moniz of the city's Department of Environmental Services.

"If it's something simple, we go ahead and repair it at no additional cost," she said.

The tests are being done because of major sewage spills over the winter when runoff from heavy rains entered the sewer and overtaxed the system. The city also will be looking for rain gutters that are connected to the sewers instead of storm drains.

Tests have been done in Waimalu and Foster Village, where there have also been problems during heavy rains. Eventually, the tests will be done islandwide, she said.

Kahikina-Moniz said the tests have revealed several problems.

"It's pretty neat. If a lateral is cracked, (the smoke) will come right up through the ground where it's damaged," she said.

The smoke testing is accurate as well as relatively inexpensive, Kahikina-Moniz said. Normally, a remote-controlled camera would have to be sent through the sewer lines to check for leaks and cracks.

"With one TV crew you could maybe only do 10 houses a day. Whereas with the smoke testing, we can do a whole neighborhood, maybe about 50 to 60 homes per day," she said.

Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.