Roanoke Rapids Solves Old Sewer Capacity

摘要

During the past 4 years, sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) were not a problem for Roanoke Rapids, N.C., Sanitary District (RRSD) as the area suffered through an extended drought. But the sopping wet spring of 2003 changed all that. As the rainfall pattern changed from drought to flood, long-hidden problems surfaced, literally, in a series of SSOs all over the state of North Carolina. "We were hit hard," says Dan Brown, CEO of RRSD. "We're staffed to handle routine operations, so a series of emergencies can quickly overex-tend our crews. We managed to keep up with our regular work while we handled the first few emergencies, then a spill from a 21-inch trunk line threatened to consume all our resources." The overflow occurred in April. So, although few people were ex-posed to it, the situation still needed o be corrected as soon as possible. By checking the effluent level in the manholes along the pipeline, the RRSD crew quickly determined that he spill was caused by a blockage in a 500-foot section between two man-holes. A remote video inspection re-vealed a large root mass thickly coated with grease, fat, and debris.