Residents are being advised crews will be conducting vapour tests on the sanitary sewer system in Diamond City on June 20th and 21st. According to Lethbridge County, the test will help crews locate “breaks and defects in the sewer system.”
During the test, residents may see a white to grey vapour coming from vent stacks in houses, streets or holes in the ground, but should not be alarmed as the substance is non-toxic and is not a fire hazard. Unless there is defective plumbing or dried-up drain traps vapour should not be seen inside buildings.
The county is advising “home [and] business owners[s] to pour a few cups of water into each floor drain or seldom-used sink to fill any dry drain traps and present any intrusion of testing vapour into the building.”
If vapour does enter the building during the test then according to the municipality there is a good chance sewer gases are also entering, which could be dangerous. In this case, residents are advised to get in contact with work crews who will be able to locate where the vapour is coming from.