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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 40,000+ sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) occur every year. These releases of untreated or partially treated sewage create serious consequences for municipalities:
Cities may never fully eliminate SSOs, but you can take measures to understand causes, prevent occurrences, and respond quickly and effectively to an overflow.
The key is to develop a plan upfront—because in an emergency, the greatest challenge is not knowing what the flows are. With flow data, sizing the bypass is a science—but without it, it’s a guessing game that could have devastating impacts.
Almost every sewer system deals with SSOs, although hopefully on an infrequent basis. Here are some of the common causes:
Municipalities can help prevent SSOs with proper operation and maintenance, adequate system capacity, and good system design and construction. Here are some ways to reduce SSOs:
Contingency planning is the most effective way to mitigate SSO damage. A crew from a reliable pump provider like Sunbelt Rentals can meet with your municipality’s collection system team at a treatment plant, lift station, or problem spot in the collection system and identify risks. Then, the team can create a contingency plan that is concise, accessible, and agreed upon by both parties.
For example, perhaps a city has issues with a lift station. We can meet and identify the peak expected sewer flow, system head conditions, and emergency bypass connections. Next, we determine the parameters of a temporary pumping system required in the event of a lift station failure, to include temporary pumps, hoses, pipes, fittings, remote monitors, and even telematics. We then put together an itemized list of equipment with a quote, so the municipality knows the exact cost. We provide both an electronic and a hard copy that resides at the lift station.
In an emergency, the operators can pull up the contingency plan, make one phone call, and activate the response. Our team moves into place with pumps and a bypass. The more pre-planning we’ve done, the less impact on the city’s budget and reputation.
The collection system of a single municipality is an asset worth millions or even billions of dollars. To maintain system capacity and extend its life, you must also invest in ongoing maintenance and in rehabilitation when necessary.
Rehab costs and actions to correct SSOs depend on the size of your municipality and the type of sewer system you have. All else being equal, however, costs will be highest and ratepayers will pay more in communities that have not put regular preventive maintenance or asset protection programs in place.
To prepare an SSO contingency plan for your municipality, contact our Pump Solutions team. We’re here to answer all of your questions and develop a custom SSO solution for your collection system.