What's Under our Streets?

Paula Vandehey, Director of Public Works for the City of Appleton, discussed how there are private (gas, electric, telephone, internet, etc.) and public (sanitary, storm, water and traffic lights) utilities under our streets.  It is important to know where they are so that they are not dug up.  Under College Avenue, the public utilities include a sanitary sewer system, storm sewer system, catch basins and a water main on the north and south side of the street.  Rain goes into the catch basin, storm sewer system and then leads to our rivers, streams and lakes.  In order to put pipes into the street, a narrow trench is opened up.  It is narrow because when it is filled in with gravel and dirt there is an area that will handle freeze, thaw and settling different from the rest of the street. Typically, the underground utilities will be done one year and the pavement the next so that the area gets a chance to settle.  Manholes are used as a juncture for different pipes that come together and they are a way to gain access for maintenance and repairs.  Sanitary sewers are used to treat our “dirty” water before it is released back into the environment and it is a piping system that takes “dirty” water from the source to the wastewater treatment plant.  There are about 380 miles of sanitary sewer that the City of Appleton maintains.  Sanitary sewer water comes from places like your sink, bath, washer, toilet, car wash, etc.   A storm sewer collects runoff (clean water) from roofs and pavement and brings it to rivers, streams and ponds.  Grass clippings, pet waste and car wash water/soap that gets put into the streets go directly into the storm sewer.  The water main system brings treated drinking water from the city water plant to our houses and businesses.  The system is a pressure system versus a gravity system of sanitary and storm sewer.  There are over 380 miles of water main which they average about 80 water main breaks per year.  We need water main water to drink, shower, cook, water our lawns, etc.  About one tenth of the city sewers are televised each year so a maintenance plan can be developed.  It is amazing at some of the things that can be found in our sewers.  A photo of an alligator was shown from a Florida sewer.