Water Utilities to begin long-term repair project

Starting Monday, the El Dorado Water Utilities will begin a long-term project to identify and repair inflow and infiltration problems in the city’s wastewater system.

John Peppers, treatment superintendent for the water utilities, said crews will be employing a smoking technique, and he advised citizens not to be alarmed if they see smoke unexpectedly — and in unexpected places.

“A crew will be using a blower and liquid smoke on manholes that will force air and smoke into the (wastewater) lines,” Peppers said.

“This will result in smoke coming up through the ground where a problem exists — if there’s a crack in the (wastewater) line,” he explained. “It can also blow through the vent stacks on the roof of people’s homes.”

He said the EWU is working with the El Dorado Fire Department to help minimize any public alarm that may be caused by the process.

Smoking the lines will help locate problem areas and prevent sanitary sewer overflows and excess water from entering the wastewater collection system, Peppers said.

He said crews will begin on the city’s south side, where the majority of the problems have been occurring.

Work is expected to start by 8 a.m. on Monday. The EWU has laid out a color-coded map that it will follow to complete the project as part of a larger master plan to improve the city’s wastewater infrastructure.

“This will be an ongoing project. We don’t have an end date. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Peppers said.