Cambrae Road residents were surprised last week to see smoke being blown down sewers on 17th March. On that same day they had received letters from Waikato District Council advising that smoke testing would be starting on the 27th March.
I checked with WDC to see what was going on. They advised that the smoke testing being done in Cambrae Road was not a rogue smoke tester on the loose. It was a case of the testing contractor being nearby and finishing other work early so they headed to Cambrae Road. So for once, WDC is ahead of schedule with a project.
The Council says that the testing is being done to, ‘look for faults in the system, such as downpipes connected to the wastewater network’. Cambrae Road residents noticed that the smoke that was being blown down a sewer manhole was seen emerging from an adjacent storm water drain grill in the gutter.
I asked WDC, “Would this indicate that council’s street storm water drains are connected to the wastewater system?” So far the Council has not answered this question.