City of Venice issued the following annoucement on Sept. 13.
The City of Venice had a contractor performing smoke testing on the sanitary sewer services in some areas 09/16/21 thru 09/19/21. Please reference the map at the end of this notice to see if your property is affected. Should you have any questions about this testing, please contact the contractor, USSI, at 941-926-2646.
City of Venice Waste Water Utilities
IMPORTANT PUBLIC NOTICE
SMOKE TESTING
To improve sewer service, the City of Venice be smoke testing the sanitary sewer lines in your area. This test, which involves forcing smoke into the sanitary sewer lines, will check for leaks, breaks and defects in the system. The smoke is odorless, creates no fire hazard, and should not enter your home or business unless you have defective plumbing or dried-up sink traps or floor drains.
This smoke test is part of our continuing effort to provide a safe, economical, efficient and environmentally sound sewer system throughout Venice. The smoke testing procedure has been recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an effective means of identifying problem areas in the sewer system. Eliminating system defects and illegal connections help our community remain in compliance with new federal legislation regarding sewer systems maintenance and sanitary sewer overflows.
The smoke used for this test is manufactured for this purpose and leaves no residuals or stains and has no effect on plants and animals. Direct contact with the smoke may cause minor respiratory irritation in some people.
If people in your building suffer from a heart condition, asthma, emphysema, or some other respiratory condition and are planning to stay in the building during testing, notify USSI immediately at 941-926-2646 so your case can be discussed in further detail.
If you know of anyone in your area who is an invalid or who may suffer a heart, lung, or breathing problem or a shift worker, please notify the City at the above number prior to testing.
Some sewer lines and manholes are located along backyard or side year easements. Whenever these lines require investigation, members of the inspection crew may need to enter your property to access the sewer lines and manholes. Homeowners do not need to be present and workers not enter your home or disturb your property.
Prior to testing, please pour 2 gallons of water in the seldom-used sinks or floor drains to prevent sewer gases, smoke or odors from entering the premises. If smoke does enter your home during testing, immediately remove yourself from the building and notify the crews that are conducting the test or call the City. Again, if smoke enters your home, it is an indication of a plumbing defect, so you should also notify a plumber. While we can assist in the location of any defects on private property, the correction of any defects are the responsibilities of the property owner.
Smoke that you see coming from the vent stacks on houses is normal. However, smoke coming from holes in the grounds is not normal and is considered a defect. All such defects be photographed and logged. The City contact property owners if a defect is located on private property.
Original source can be found here.
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