Smoke Testing 101: It’s  Not a Pipe Dream!

In this episode, Eva Schwendimann from the SW EFC discusses the basics of sewer smoke testing in sanitary sewer systems with Mike Rivera. Mike is a Water and Wastewater Utility Specialist at the SW EFC and has a background of working with Water and Wastewater in New Mexico systems for over 20 years. This episode walks listeners through why and how a smoke test is conducted, the equipment needed, best case weather conditions for testing, and how to collect and manage data from a smoke test.  

Episode Chapters:

• Podcast Intro - 0:00:00
• Mike’s experience with smoke testing - 0:01:22 
• Summary of smoke test procedure - 0:04:25
• What can a smoke test detect? - 0:05:02 
• What is Infiltration and Inflow? - 0:05:22 
• Equipment needed - 0:08:32 
• Step by step procedure - 0:09:38 
• How effective is smoke testing?- 0:12:18
• Best weather conditions  - 0:13:14 
• How to collect and manage data - 0:14:08
• Podcast Outro -  0:18:57

Links to additional resources:  

NPDES: Stormwater Best Management Practice, Preventing Stormwater Contamination from Sanitary Sewage 

Sewer Smoke Testing | Fulcrum 

EFCN Blog | The Impacts of Changing Precipitation Patterns on Wastewater and Stormwater Systems