Private Sewer Repair Program

 

The City of Springfield’s award-winning Private Sewer Repair Program was one of the first successful private I/I programs in the state of Missouri, the result of more than 20 years of improvements the city has made to its wastewater collection and treatment systems.

TREKK assisted the city with the Program’s development, implementation and execution. We worked cooperatively with City staff, plumbing contractors and property owners to conduct building evaluations and manage remediation efforts. TREKK’s sewer experts also conducted smoke testing and provided data management, QA/QC, and analysis to evaluate the Program’s success.

The voluntary Program included a significant public relations component to communicate and educate the affected property owners. As a result, the Program team achieved a 95 percent voluntary participation rate for the building inspections and an 88 percent participation rate for the removal of identified private I/I sources.

Thanks to the Private Sewer Repair Program, the City realized a 42 percent reduction in I/I flow into its sanitary sewer. For every dollar it spends on private I/I, the city saves approximately $11 on improvement costs.

The Private Sewer Repair Program offers a template for other Consent Decree communities to develop similar partnerships with their ratepayers to comply with environmental regulations, improve public health and lower treatment and improvement costs.

 
 
 

Services

  • Wastewater

  • Asset Management/GIS

Awards

  • 2015 Engineering Excellence Competition Honor Award, ACEC Missouri

  • Public Information and Education Award, National Association of Clean Water Agencies

  • 2016 Environmental Excellence Award, City of Springfield