Emergency Response
Invariably, in the Wastewater Collection System, there is some degree of emergency response taking place at any given moment, whether debris in the line, or excessive, isolated grease build-up. The calls typically come from the public, police, fire department or other sources. The kinds of emergencies vary, but the most common one is an over-flowing man-hole cover.
When there’s a stoppage, the Vactor trucks can perform a clean-up in record time. Our target response time is 30 minutes or less. About 75 percent of the time, these calls are non-sewer related issues, but we still respond, because there may be a potential problem. Collection System spills have currently been lowered to a 10-year low and continue to diminish, giving every indication our procedures are working well.
Public Interest
Over the years, Wastewater has rescued and retrieved countless valuables, ranging from cats in storm drains to a mouth-piece from a tuba. Fifteen minutes after the call came in, the mouth-piece was back on its rightful tuba. A copy of the joyous thank-you letter is still in the Wastewater’s office. Some of the more common retrievals include keys, sunglasses, shoes, remote control cars, dentures, watches, cell phones and pagers. They’ve even removed the occasional beehive.