PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city of Pittsfield will conduct smoke and dye testing in the months ahead to help detect illegal inflow connections to sanitary sewer systems, which can lead to costly repairs for the taxpayer. 

 

In advance of this work the city is embarking on an educational campaign to build awareness around the detrimental impacts of inflow.

 

Inflow is stormwater (rain or snow melt) that enters the sanitary sewer system. Residents may have an illegal connection, which means stormwater from their property that doesn't need to be treated is unnecessarily traveling to the wastewater treatment plant, straining the sanitary sewer system.

 

"When there is heavy rainfall, the sanitary sewer cannot handle the excess flow from inflow," said Commissioner Ricardo Morales, of the Department of Public Services and Utilities. "This leads to sanitary sewer overflows of untreated wastewater into one's home, street, and yard. It also affects the treatment plant's ability to treat wastewater."

 

Once available, smoke and dye testing dates will be shared publicly.

 

Before testing, homeowners can proactively find out where their drains and downspouts direct stormwater and if they have illegal connections. For more information or to have an engineer inspect a home's connections, contact the city's Engineering 

 

For more information, a list of stormwater and sewer do's and don'ts is available on the Department of Public Utilities' page: https://www.cityofpittsfield.org/departments/public_works_and_utilities/index.php