Palm Coast Sewer Maintenance Program

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CCTV and Cleaning of Gravity Sewer

CCTV and cleaning of gravity sewer is the initial point of maintaining of the Wastewater Collection System. You must first know where the problems are before they can be corrected. The cleaning of the lines by the use of high pressure jetting and vacuumed truck cleans the debris and grease from the gravity sewer lines and makes it easier to run the CCTV equipment to identify defects such as cracks, offset pipe joints and leaking services. Each year Utility sets a goal to clean and CCTV and minimum of 10% of the gravity sewer system and consistently meets or exceeds this goal.

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Smoke Testing of Gravity Sewer

In 2011 the Utility started a new smoke testing program to maintain the gravity sewer system and locate sources of I&I (Inflow and Infiltration). In this program smoke is forced into the gravity sewer system and escapes from the system via openings such as broken cleanout caps, cut sewer services from trenching equipment installing cable TV or telephone lines, or illegal connections to the system such as gutter downspouts, and pool drains. All defects are then recorded and repairs are made by Utility Staff. The goal of the Utility is to smoke test 20% of the gravity sewer each year and complete all recorded repairs.

Gravity Sewer Point Repairs and Pressure Grouting of Manholes

A spinoff maintenance program as a result of the CCTV and cleaning of gravity sewer to locate defects is installation of CIP (cured in place) fiberglass liners and pressure grouting leaks in manholes with urethane grout. The utility has trained personnel in confined space entry to perform this work. The fiberglass liners are placed inside of the gravity sewer pipe at the location of the defect and molded to form a “pipe inside of pipe” seal.

Cleaning of Sewer Pumping Stations

The Wastewater Collection Department operates two Sewer VAC Trucks used in the day to day maintenance of the Wastewater Collection System. Besides cleaning gravity sewer lines the trucks are utilized weekly in the cleaning of grease and debris from pump stations. The high pressure jetting system is used to scour the walls then the debris is vacuumed into the truck and disposed of at a designated dump site. This program keeps grease and debris from being pumped to the treatment facility and helps eliminate damage to pumps and reduces after hours alarms.

Pump Station Annual Maintenance

There are currently 154 pump stations in the Wastewater Collection System that are maintained by a highly diversified crew that are responsible for the inspection, maintenance, and repairs. The stations are inspected on a weekly basis for run times, electrical and pumping efficiency, and site inspections. Each year every station has an annual maintenance inspection that includes removing each pump and performing a comprehensive service including changing out fluids, wear rings, and impellors as needed. All components of the pump control panel and the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) remote monitoring system are inspected as well.

Pep Tank Annual Maintenance

With over 14,000 Pep Tanks installed in the Wastewater Collection System it only represents half of the residential lots located in sections designated for Pep and therefore the Utility must have an affective preventative maintenance program in place. Utility Technicians inspect systems daily to assure that the system is working properly, make necessary adjustments, and replace components as needed.

This information was provided by the city of Palm Coast If you need more information on sewer maintenance program and more, visit https://www.palmcoastgov.com/government/utility/wastewater