The City of Houston advised residents that smoke testing of sanitary sewers will be taking place during the next few weeks, beginning Monday (July 23).
Engineers with TREKK Design Group, a Springfield firm, will be working with the city to do the testing. Residents are advised by TREKK that smoke that might be visible is non-toxic, has no odor, is white or gray in color, creates no fire hazard and is not harmful to pets.
Officials said smoke should not enter a given building unless there is defective plumbing or dried up drain traps present. Should you detect smoke in your building, the room should be ventilated through an open window or door and it will dissipate quickly.
To reduce the potential of smoke entering your building, poor water into drains that are seldom used. Also, adding a small amount of vegetable oil will help slow down the evaporation of water in your drains.
In addition, if floor drains don’t hold water in the trap, place a damp towel over the drain.
TREKK officials said areas targeted for testing include the Lillyview subdivision, downtown Houston, the area near Oak Hill Drive, neighborhoods near Airport road from Skyview Terrace to Ozark Street and a portion of West Highway 17.
For special assistance, information concerning schedules or technical information, call Tony White at 417-496-8689 or the TREKK office at 417-890-9465.
For more information about smoke testing, watch a short video online at bit.ly/smoketesting.