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With rain coming, Tampa uses smoke to test pipes for cracks

 
Water bubbles out of a manhole cover at Willow Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard during heavy rain last August.
Water bubbles out of a manhole cover at Willow Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard during heavy rain last August.
Published May 28, 2016

TAMPA — Eleven days of heavy rain proved to be too much for Tampa's sewer system last summer, swamping pipes, causing manhole covers to pop up and forcing waste into streets.

To prepare for this summer's rainy season, Tampa's wastewater department this week brought in a white, odorless smoke to test pipes in both north and south Tampa.

The nontoxic smoke, which was mostly water vapor, was used to identify cracks or faulty pipes, Tampa wastewater director Eric Weiss said. A city contractor used high-capacity blowers to direct the smoke down through manholes and into the wastewater collection system.

"When you blow smoke it'll find its way out through any cracks," Weiss said. "We kind of do it when we see areas that are suspected to have stormwater entering our system."

It cost $4,140 to test the pipes. No cracks were found.

The testing took place Monday and Tuesday in two areas. In South Tampa, smoke testing took place inside an area bordered by W Estrella Avenue on the north, W San Jose Street on the south, S Manhattan Avenue on the east and S West Shore Boulevard on the west.

Farther north, the area tested was bordered by W Hanna Avenue on the north, W Henry Avenue on the south, N Grady Avenue on the east, and N Manhattan on the west.

"Those are areas we see stormwater entering the system," Weiss said.

The cracks the tests are designed to find allow stormwater to enter pipes and waste to flow out. If that happens, the city has to notify the state and clean up the area.

"Overall, this work is a good thing," said City Council member Harry Cohen, whose South Tampa district has a long history of chronic flooding. "But what we need is a major investment in stormwater."

Tampa's rainy season starts in June and ends in September, according to the National Weather Service.

Last spring, Mayor Bob Buckhorn proposed creating a new fee to pay for a major expansion of the city's stormwater collection system.

But a divided City Council rejected the plan in November, citing its cost to property owners, especially those who are older or on fixed incomes.

Last week, the council said it would discuss a scaled-down version of Buckhorn's plan, one with a proposed assessment that's slightly lower. Buckhorn's staff proposes to reduce the burden on property owners by using $20 million from the Community Investment Tax, a half-cent sales tax that voters approved to pay for schools, roads and other projects.

Cohen said he hopes the council will makes progress on the issue this summer.

"It's protecting the city in case of a catastrophic event," he said.

Contact Ariana Figueroa at (813) 226-3350 or afigueroa@tampabay.com. Follow @ArianaLFigueroa