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Collections - Operations and Maintenance Programs

Line Cleaning

Pump Station Repair

Smoke Testing and Video Inspection

The wastewater collection system provides sewer service to more than 28,000 households and 2,300 businesses in the cities of Lakewood, University Place, Steilacoom, Milton, and unicorporated areas of the County including Spanaway, Parkland, Brown's Point, South Hill, and Frederickson.

The Sewer Service Area (PDF) includes the above referenced areas of Pierce County and the entire Urban Growth Area, or UGA, as established by the Pierce County Comprehensive Plan. The sewer system is a closed or 'sanitary' system meaning that only wastewater from homes, businesses, and industries is sent for processing to the Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Unlike many systems in the Eastern United States where the term 'storm sewer' is used denoting combined sewer and storm water collection, the Pierce County system is a closed or 'sanitary' system. A sanitary system is one that does not allow any other type of collection including surface or storm water drainage or connection of on-site surface drainage systems to the sewer lines. Every effort is made through ongoing system maintenance to keep the sewer system 'sanitary'.

Line Cleaning

Pierce County's Wastewater Collection Maintenance Staff utilize hydraulic methods to clean gravity sewer lines, low pressure force mains, and siphons. The line cleaning crew also uses chemical applications to retard growth of tree roots into older sewer lines. With the County's current resources and asset inventory, staff was able to clean and clear 157 miles of sewer lines in 2007.

Pump Stations

The Wastewater Collection Maintence Section operates and maintains 94 individual pump stations throughout the Pierce County Sewer Service Area. Pump Stations are comprised of various support equipment such as emergency power generators, compressors, odor control facilities, fans, and other related equipment. The Pump Station maintenance section is responsible for the upkeep of 2,250 individual pieces of equipment.

Smoke Testing and Video Inspection

The Wastewater Collection Line Maintenance Section performs smoke testing and televised video inspections of pipelines in order to determine sources of potential ground water leaks into the sanitary sewer system.

Smoke Testing is used to locate line breaks and possible illegal sewer line connections. The most common illegal connection is a stormwater line or tightline gutter connection into the sanitary sewer line. This past year 505,657 lineal feet of gravity sewer lines were smoke tested.

Video Inspections of the system are made to determine line condition, grade, and quality, and to assure correct pipeline construction and installation. Video is also used to locate buried sewer stubs for the Engineering Department. In 2007 video inspections were performed on 526 manholes, 283,547 lineal feet of sewer lines, and 21 side sewer connections. Those inspections resulted in the repair of 17 side-sewer connections, installation of 28 sewer guards and 109 bolt-down lids, and the replacement of 229 residential clean-out caps.

In 2007 the Maintenance Staff also repaired 902 maintenance holes including uncovering buried structures, raising maintenance hole covers to grade and replacing faulty lids and frames.

Call Before You Dig!

Pierce County Utilities subscribes to the Utilities Underground Location Center per Washington State law RCW 19.122. Please call 24 hours in advance to 1-800-424-5555 or 811before starting any new project.

Contact www.callbeforeyoudig.com

Collections Address:

Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
Collections Division
10311 Chambers Creek Road West
University Place, Washington 98467

(253) 565-3440 24 hours
(253) 798-3019 fax
pcutilities@co.pierce.wa.us