Poway Spotlight: Wastewater Utilities

In Poway, our water utilities systems encompass more than making sure water reaches your tap. It's also about what happens once the water leaves your home or business. Poway's Wastewater Utilities division of Public Works oversees the 186-mile network of sewer lines that transports nearly 1 billion gallons of wastewater each year.

The division's primary goal is to ensure zero spills through a comprehensive operations and maintenance program. One element of the program is the video inspection of sewer mainlines.

Wastewater crews perform routine mainline segment inspections on a daily basis and regularly monitor "hot spots" for obstructions. These inspections to track the condition of the pipelines and manholes in the collection system, look for blockages or root intrusions, and determine if any repairs or maintenance needs to be scheduled.

The saying about "an ounce of prevention" could be this division's motto as crews strive to limit surprises and take care of issues before they become an emergency. But when something does happen, Wastewater Utilities crews have an after-hours team to respond 24/7.

In addition to sewer mainline video inspections, Public Works Wastewater division staff also perform daily routine cleaning of the wastewater collection system sewer mainline using the city's vactor truck, perform manhole inspections and maintenance, maintain and perform a comprehensive annual sewer lateral maintenance program, maintain dedicated easements, monitor the recycled water system for cross-connections to protect the potable water system, and administer the Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) Program city-wide.