LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) – The City of Lawton has started the process of getting rid of that strong sewer odor at the old Central Fire Station. The method they’re using? Smoke tests.
Obviously, odors aren’t something you can see, which makes it hard to find the sewer leaks that are causing that smell. City Officials said smoke testing helps solves this issue.
After complaints of smelling sewage, the City of Lawton is using smoke testing to help find any cracks in the sewer lines of the old central fire station. They said if they see smoke, there’s a leak.
“There’s quite a few in there. I mean obviously, it’s an older building. But yeah there are quite a few areas in there that need addressing, to help to eliminate the smells,” said Hinton.
As wastewater superintendent for the City, Glenn Hinton said his department normally focuses on city water mains, but this is an unusual case.
“Obviously with this being a fire station and it’s a city-owned building that’s why we are assisting with that,” Hinton said.
The reason behind the leaks, the old central fire station was built in 1930, and cast iron was used during the construction.
“Now we have gone through and moved to PVC and things of that nature. It’s a little bit more durable and lasts a little bit more longer. But I believe there are some cast iron issues where they have split or deteriorated or rusted out over time,” Bobby Sparks the building construction specialist for the City of Lawton said.
Sparks said they completed a lot of prep work to ensure the smoke test is necessary. This included filling P traps or drains, where sewer smells could possibly escape.
“That will let hydrangeas sulfide or methane into the building, because being a safety issue. So what we go do and we will take care of that first and once that is done and if there is a sewer smell that is still coming through. We will go through a do a smoke test,” Sparks said.
Sparks said today’s smoke test only took 15 minutes and now the city will develop a plan to take care of the problem.
“Better alternative right now is going to be looking at PVC. Going through and venting everything with PVC,” Spark said.
They believe they should be able to work around the people who currently work at the old central fire station and other surrounding businesses.
“This should really not affect the neighborhood. Once everything is completed, we may go through and do another smoke test,” Sparks said.
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