Inflow and infiltration

 WHAT TO EXPECT DURING HEAVY RAINS?

  As heavy rains fall during the next few days,      you might notice the way your bathroom    operates. That’s the result of the way heavy  rains affect the city’s wastewater system. 

 Some residents might experience interrupted  sewer services. Toilets might flush slower, and  the bathtubs or showers might drain slower.  

That slow response happens when rainwater travels through the City’s wastewater collection system collection lines and service taps as well as manholes and private wastewater clean-outs. The effect is called I&I, or inflow and infiltration. 

Our wastewater lift stations become inundated with the increasing waters and the system backs up. As a result, water takes longer to reach the Wastewater Treatment Plan. 

The I&I effect lasts until the rain stops. Once the weather passes, the rainwater subsides and the wastewater infrastructure returns to normal operations. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO DURING HEAVY RAINS? 

The City deals with I&I does everything it can to help the system catch up with the amount of water it deals with during heavy rains. Residents can conserve water during rainy weather and make sure private plumbing lines always have caps on exposed clean-outs.

Part of "How We Work for You," an ongoing series about the ways the City of Lake Jackson works for its residents.