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EXFILTRATION IN SEWER SYSTEMS
Citation:
Amick, R. S. AND E. H. Burgess. EXFILTRATION IN SEWER SYSTEMS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-01/034 (NTIS PB2003-103053), 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
This study focused on the quantification of leakage of sanitary and industrial sewage from sanitary sewer pipes on a national basis. The method for estimating exfiltration amounts utilized groundwater talbe information to identify areas of the country where the hydraulic gradients of the sewage ar etypically positive, i.e., the sewage flow surfce (within pipelines) is above the groundwater table. An examination of groundwater table elevations on a national basis reveals that the contiguous US is comprised of groundwater regions (established by the US Geological Survey) which are markedly different. Many areas of the northeastern, southeastern, and midwestern US have higher groundwater tables than the sewage flow surface, resulting in inflow or infiltration. Conversely, a combination of relatively low groundwater tables and shallow sewers creates the potential for widespread exfiltration in communities located in the western US.
This report presents information on typical sewer systems identifies and assesses the factors that cause or probably cause exfiltration, presents commonly used and advanced corrective measures and their costs for dealing with exfiltraiton, identifies technology gaps, and recommends associated research needs and prioities. This report also examines urban exfiltratiion, including a case study of Albuquerque, NM.