PART 1 – GENERAL

1.01 Scope of Work

A. It is our intent to provide technical information for the smoke testing materials and procedures to be used in the investigation of the sanitary sewer facilities as shown on the Project Maps. All materials and procedures shall be consistent with these specifications, current industry standards, and as approved by the Engineer.

B. The Contractor shall minimize the physical entry of personnel into the sanitary sewer facilities. If required, manhole entry shall be in accordance with Federal, State, and local regulations for confined space entry and other regulations that may apply. The Contractor shall provide all safety equipment required for manhole entry operations, including harnesses, ventilation equipment, etc.

1.02 Submittals with this section.

1. Work Permits from applicable local, state and federal agencies
2. Notification Documents
3. Method of Smoke Production D. Field Log Worksheets written or in DVD format if specified.
4. Final Compiled Reports written or in DVD format if specified. F. Identification for all Employees on-site

1.03 Personnel Qualifications

1. A single Crew performing the testing shall be no less than 3 persons. One supervisor and two helpers per crew. One person operates the blower and smoke device. The other two inspect the run for evidence of smoke.
2. The Contractor’s employees performing the smoke testing under the provisions of these specifications shall be properly trained and thoroughly experienced in the use of the equipment and procedures. The supervisor shall have at least two years of previous testing experience obtained in the last four years prior to the date of award. As a minimum, the helpers shall have at lease five (5) days of verifiable, previous testing experience. The five (5) days of experience shall have been acquired within a maximum of six (6) months prior to the date of award of this contract, unless specifically waived by the Engineer
3. A list of employees to be used shall be provided to the Engineer to keep on file at the Municipal Offices. The information provided shall include the name and a copy of the driver’s license of each individual. Each employee shall be provided with a photo ID identifying him by name, the name and contact information for the company. All job supervisors will have cards with contact information for the supervisor and company to provide to residents if requested.
4. The Contractor shall require all personnel to demonstrate good judgment, in performing the testing.
5. The Contractor shall take appropriate action to ensure that his employees are polite to the public in all aspects of the work and that immediate assistance is provided to property owners if needed.

PART 2 – PRODUCTS

2.01 Blowers

A. The Contractor shall provide a portable blower designed and built specifically for the use of smoke testing. The blower shall be self contained and powered by a minimum three (3) horsepower (HP) gasoline engine and be capable of producing a minimum of 2000 cubic feet of air per minute when working as a blow-in ventilator and 4000 cfm when working as a suction ventilator.

B. The base of the blower shall have appropriate adapters and seals to make a good connection to the manhole without excessive loss of air and smoke.

2.02 Smoke Production

A. Smoke bombs shall produce a chemical reaction generating white to gray smoke, leaving no residue, and shall be non-toxic and non-explosive. Each bomb shall be capable of producing adequate volume of smoke when used alone or in combination with a number of bombs for the duration of the test.

B. Smoke Fluid shall produce smoke when exposed to the heat of the exhaust system of the motor for the blower. The smoke generated shall be white to gray smoke, leaving no residue, and shall be non-toxic and non-explosive.

2.03 Other Equipment

In addition to the blower, the Contractor shall provide all other equipment, tools, and incidentals required to perform smoke testing as required by these specifications and as directed by the Engineer including but not

C. A list of employees to be used shall be provided to the Engineer to keep on file at the Municipal Offices. The information provided shall include the name and a copy of the driver’s license of each individual. Each employee shall be provided with a photo ID identifying him by name, the name and contact information for the company. All job supervisors will have cards with contact information for the supervisor and company to provide to residents if requested.

D. The Contractor shall require all personnel to demonstrate good judgment, in performing the testing.

E. The Contractor shall take appropriate action to ensure that his employees are polite to the public in all aspects of the work and that immediate assistance is provided to property owners if needed.

PART 3 – EXECUTION

3.01 Work Progress – The work shall generally progress as follows:

A. The Contractor shall apply for and obtain work permits for all work to be performed in State and/or County Highways. All required insurances, traffic control measures, and other terms of the permit shall be provided to the satisfaction of the Agency Permit Engineer and/or Project Engineer.

B. The Contractor shall have all submittals required reviewed, including the form of the field worksheet, etc, by the Engineer. Work shall not proceed until acceptance of all submittals by the Engineer.

C. A Work Schedule shall be submitted for review and approval by the Engineer. No field testing or notification may proceed until the schedule has been approved by the Engineer. After approval of the WORK SCHEDULE by the Engineer, the Contractor shall not make any revisions or modifications to it without the written approval of the Engineer.

D. Pre-notifications – With the first notification, the contractor shall notify all affected residents in the Municipality that smoke testing will occur no more than two weeks prior and not less than one week prior to the date of the testing. This notification will be by using a printed flyer hung on each door of affected homeowners and/or a press release in the Official newspaper of the Municipality. The flyer and/or press release notice shall include: 1. Contact numbers for the Contractor and the Municipality, if residents want additional information. (All persons who will be in contact with the public should be well versed in the smoke testing procedures, work schedule and content of all public notices). 2. Warnings to the homeowner that Individuals with respiratory, heart problems, or others who should never be exposed to smoke, should be removed from the premises prior to the tests. Others, such as house confined invalids, sleeping shift workers and locked in animals should be identified and evacuated before the test. The notice should also request that homes with these individuals be requested to be registered as “Homes of Special Concern.”

E. Regulatory Notifications – The Contractor shall notify the Local Police and Fire Departments, the County, the County Department of Health and the State Department of Environmental protection, just prior to distributing the flyers and publishing the Press Release to the General Public.

3.02 Work Schedule

1. Upon award of the Contract and prior to commencing any work, the Contractor shall provide a complete WORK SCHEDULE to the Engineer for review and approval. The Work Schedule shall be typed and shall indicate the planned progress for the proposed work.
2. The Work Schedule shall indicate the following: 1. Street Name (when in easements – the names of the abutting streets). 2. Street Limits (cross streets or property addresses). 3. Upstream and Downstream Manhole Numbers (from Project Maps). 4. Date of Testing. 5. Starting Time. 6. Ending Time.
3. Acceptable Periods of Work
   1. The Contractor shall not commence testing before 8:00 a.m. and shall terminate testing no later than 5:00 p.m. each day.
   2. If the Contractor wishes to test before 8:00 a.m. in commercial areas, such testing shall be shown on the submitted WORK SCHEDULE and is subject to the approval of the Engineer.
   3. Work times in Commercial areas shall be scheduled to be prior to the opening of the majority of the businesses in that area.
   4. Smoke testing shall not be performed on weekends or on holidays without the prior approval of the Engineer.
4. Contractor shall not perform smoke testing on days that, in the opinion of the Engineer, will hinder the results of the test. (For example, when high winds, heavy rains, or excessively high groundwater levels would interfere with the effectiveness of the testing).

3.03 Performing the Testing

A. Procedure
1. Safety
(a) The Contractor and his personnel shall be aware of and shall follow all Federal, State, and Local safety laws and regulations.
(b) No entry into any part of the collection system shall be permitted until the Contractor has demonstrated that on-site personnel has been trained in applicable safety procedures and has the equipment on-site to allow those procedures to be followed.
(c) Traffic Control. The area of work shall at all times be protected by means of an adequate number of cones, barricades, flags, or whatever means is necessary to properly and safely protect both vehicular and pedestrian traffi
C. Flag men shall be provided in all streets. Further requirements for Traffic control may be imposed by the specific agency having jurisdiction.
(d) Any condition deemed to be an unsafe condition shall be immediately corrected by the Contractor. The failure of the Engineer or his representatives to bring a potentially dangerous situation to the Contractor’s attention shall not relieve the Contractor from his responsibility for providing a safe work area.
2. Unless otherwise approved by the Engineer, the sections of sewer subject to testing shall: (a) Consist of a central manhole, where the blower will be positioned, and an upstream and downstream manhole and the sewer pipe between them. With three (3) manholes and two pipe sections, lengths should not exceed 800 feet. (b) Consist of sections two (2) manholes and one pipe section. This allows a run of 400 to 800 ft of pipe.
3. Flow Control – It is the intent of this specification that the smoke testing be accomplished without the need for bypass pumping. The Contractor shall provide temporary plugs, sandbags, or flow barriers as required to contain an adequate volume of smoke within the section of sewer being tested, or to limit the extent of sewer subjected to pressurized smoke. The Contractor shall monitor the resulting surcharged sewer at the manhole upstream of the section of sewer being tested, and prevent overflow conditions from occurring by removing the flow barriers.
4. Prior to placing any smoke into a manhole, the Contractor shall first evacuate the system with a blower to ensure that any collection of explosive gas and any odor that may be introduced into the homes and businesses have been dispersed prior to pressurizing the sewer with smoke. Evacuation may be accomplished by removing the manhole covers of all manholes in the run, then placing a vacuum on the manhole where the blower is located, or, then blowing air into the manhole.
5. All smoke testing information shall be accurately and neatly recorded on field worksheets and on 200 scale maps (1 in. = 200 ft.) or other maps of suitable scale as provided by the Engineer. The final report and information may be transferred to a computer generated log sheet together with related digital photographs taken during the project execution if specified in the contract.
6. For each sewer main tested, the Contractor shall prepare a field log identifying each point of smoke exfiltration from:
(a) Roof gutters.
(b) Sewer cleanouts
(c) Leakage in house laterals.
(d) Patio or area drains.
(e) Storm drain cross connections.
(f) Any other source not stated above
(g) Indicate if roof vents showed evidence of smoke or not.
7. The points of exfiltration, as identified above, shall be referenced and dimensioned to permanent landmarks or house or lot numbers.
8. A photograph of all leaks using a digital camera or approved substitute shall be included in the field log. Photographs of smoke evidence shall have a location indicated in the photograph using a heavy marker and heavy card stock and/or recorded on a DVD disk if specified. All photographs shall be clearly cross-referenced to the typed and/or computer generated log indicating the location of the leak.
9. The report shall reference the alphanumeric manhole numbers shown on the Project Maps.
10. The Contractor shall prepare a bound report and/or DVD record, if specified, of the smoke testing as specified. The report shall
(a) Contain a typed log that clearly identifies each sewer main tested.
(b) Have all field data checked for accuracy and compiled into typewritten reports.
(c) Contain the digital data (i.e. photographs) at the end of the project.
(d) Contain copies of the materials used to make notifications and a log of the daily notifications to the emergency and safety personnel.
(e) Submit Two (2) complete copies of the report and/or the DVD to the Engineer for review. Upon receiving the Engineer’s review comments, the Contractor shall edit or revise the report and/or DVD as necessary and resubmit five copies of the final report and/or DVD to the Engineer.