Each Sunday we will feature a project going on within the city, happenings within a department or someone who works hard to provide services to the community. Today we talk to the city's Field Forces Department superintendent about the role and responsibilities of that department.
Did you know that there is 175 miles of sanitary sewer lines traversing the city, taking waste from homes and businesses to the city's wastewater treatment plant?
Or that there are 525 miles of stormwater sewer lines that help drain the city?
It is the Field Forces Department that is charged with maintaining those lines along with many more responsibilities that help keep wastewater and stormwater flowing throughout the city.
Department Superintendent Dan Komenda said his department has 21 full-time and two part-time employees responsible for maintaining the sewer lines as well as 39 sanitary lift stations and five stormwater lift stations.
Komenda is assisted by field director Bob Dixon, mechanic lead Jamie Hurst, lift station lead Bill Gonzales and administrative assistant Courtney Castle.
The department is also responsible for street sweeping, maintaining the city's MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) state and federal regulations, cleaning retention and detention ponds and cleaning ditches and creeks maintained by the city.
On the sanitary side, said Komenda, the department is responsible for jetting and cleaning all the sanitary lines at least once a year. Some areas, "trouble spots" are checked each week and cleaned when needed.
The sanitary sewer lines are also regularly inspected, using a video camera to detect cracks, separated joints and other abnormalities, said Komenda.
Depending on the damage, the city may hire an outside contractor to slip line pipes, which coats the inside of damaged pipes with a lining to give them new life. For smaller, spot repairs on pipes 24-inches in diameter or less, repairs are done in-house by inserting sleeves within the pipes. So far, this year, the department has used this method of patching 15 pipes, saving the city money and extending the life of the system.
Along that 175 miles of sanitary pipes, which takes wastewater from homes and businesses along bigger and bigger pipes until it reaches the nearly 5-foot wide main interceptor and continues to the wastewater treatment plant, are 39 lift stations. While most of the flow is gravity fed, said Komenda, there are some areas where gravity isn't enough. The lift stations pump the wastewater along the way.
It is important to maintain the lift stations, he said, because if they get clogged, the pumps can burn out and cause sewage to back up.
That's why, reminded Komenda, it is important only to flush toilet paper in a toilet. He said there have been issues with people flushing other items, such as baby wipes, which don't degrade. The items eventually make it to the lift stations and can cause issues.
Lift stations are equipped with alarms and, if an alarm signals, there are department members on duty 24/7 to respond to issues.
One of the biggest issues for residents, said Komenda, is sewage back up in their home. If that happens, residents should call 219-763-2986, listen to emergency prompts, and the on-call person will respond.
A technician will check all the lines between the manholes. If it is in an area of the city's responsibility, it will be repaired. However, in most cases, issues are found in the area of the line - that between the tap-on and a home - for which the homeowner is responsible.
On the stormwater side, employees sweep the streets to keep dirt and trash from going into manholes and the storm drains, using street sweepers.
It is important to keep routes to stormwater drain inlets clean. If they get covered with debris, flooding can happen. This is especially important during leaf season and the primary reason the city requests residents not to rake leaves into the street.
Of the 21 employees, six work on the stormwater side, checking drains and removing debris.
Komenda said residents can help keep drainage ways cleared by checking inlets and manholes near their homes to make sure they are cleared of debris.
The stormwater employees also maintain retention and detention ponds owned by the Field Forces Department as well as clean ditches and creeks maintained by the city.
It isn't unusual for one of the city crews to remove beaver dams which have blocked the flow of a creek or ditch. This year alone, five or six dams have been found along Willow Creek and been removed. A professional trapper is called to relocate the beavers and city crews are charged with breaking up the dams to allow the creeks to flow.
Under the MS4 responsibilities, said Castle, the department is charged with monitoring erosion control for new construction as well as making sure the city is following all state and federal mandates.
Another responsibility is to educate the public on various issues regarding drainage. They have produced three educational videos, which can be found on the department's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014882076488
Each April the department also sells rain barrels at a discount to residents.
"We try to do as much public outreach as possible," said Castle.
More information on the department can also be found on the city's website at https://www.portagein.gov/topic/index.php?topicid=39...
