Why we clean our sanitary sewer lines

The cleaning of sanitary sewers is a maintenance task performed at regular intervals to maintain design flows and to assist in the prevention of sewer blockages.  

Sewer lines can develop air pressure/vacuum from the cleaning process. Any excess air pressure or vacuum will dissipate through your home’s plumbing vents. Occasionally however, there are homes with inadequate plumbing such as undersized or obstructed vents. In the case of inadequate venting, air pressure could escape through your toilet, sink, tub, shower, or floor drains, causing water to splash out or a vacuum could draw the water out of your fixture’s traps causing an unpleasant odor.

To guard against this possibility, please do the following:

  • Cover affected floor, tub, or sink drains with plastic and place a weight on the plastic.
  • Cover all toilets with plastic and close the lid on the plastic.
  • If you should experience odor, run water into each drain to refill the traps.
  • In extreme cases, it may be beneficial to install a vented cap on your sanitary sewer service line clean out. (Note: this vent has the potential to emit odors.)

Visit the Sanitary Sewer Line Cleaning web app to monitor current cleaning progress.

You can learn more about Sanitary Sewer Cleaning by watching this video on the City of Gillette's YouTube Channel. 

If  you have any questions, please call: 
THE CITY OF GILLETTE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY AT (307) 686-5274.

 

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