The Fountain Hills Sanitary District currently has a few ongoing projects to improve services and maintain the sewer infrastructure in the most cost-effective way. These projects mean residents may notice more people accessing manholes than before.

Following is a description of current Sanitary District projects.

GPS field locating all manholes is important for accurately locating manholes in times of emergency.

Over time, manholes can get covered by vegetation, landscaping, or paving, making them difficult to find in an emergency. The district is currently using a pole-mounted GPS (global positioning system) unit to locate all manholes within inches of accuracy.

The accurate location of all manholes allows District staff to better map and identify manholes, leading to improved maintenance records. Accurate maps are necessary to respond quickly to back-ups or other service emergencies.

To date, the district has located, via GPS, nearly 75% of the 5,400 manholes in the sewer system.

For another project, the Sanitary District has contracted with Peoria Pest Control to perform vector control at every manhole within the Sanitary District. Vector control includes coating the inside of each manhole with a roach repellant.

By contracting the needed pest abatement service to a specialized company allows Peoria Pest Control to treat all the manholes more cost-effectively.

The District has also initiated a system-wide sewer study to identify areas with pipe blockages. The Sewer Line-Rapid Assessment Tool, “SL-RAT”, by RH Borden and Company, consists of two pieces of equipment – a speaker and a microphone – that are placed on adjacent manholes. Using a series of sounds at different frequencies, the SL-RAT can detect the amount of blockage in any segment of pipe. Blockages typically occur from a build-up of grease, wipes, roots and other debris.

This assessment can be accomplished much quicker than traditional line-flushing and video inspection of sewer pipes. It only requires walking access to a manhole rather than bringing in large sewer cleaning trucks and equipment. A rapid assessment allows the district to address high priority areas first, and not spend time and resources in areas with no issue.