City of Effingham issued the following announcement on Aug. 11.

RJN Group, Inc. will begin testing sanitary sewers in areas south of Rickelman Avenue, east of Keller Drive to Cumberland Court, and north of Ford Avenue on Monday, August 12, 2019. Outer Belt West from Keller to Evergreen (including Firefly) will also be included. The purpose of the smoke testing is to locate defects in the sewer system.

The smoke is non-toxic, harmless, and creates no fire hazard. The smoke will not enter your home or building unless there is defective plumbing or dried up drain traps. Drain traps should always be filled with water to prevent sewer gases or odors from entering the building. If you have seldom used drains, please pour water in the drain to fill the trap.

If smoke is found in your home or building, simply open windows and the smoke will dissipate quickly. Please also notify the onsite testing personnel or the onsite City staff. If smoke enters your home, sewer gases could also potentially enter your home. If this occurs, please consult a licensed plumber to fix any problems.

This will be an ongoing program and the information obtained will be used to improve the City’s sewer system in keeping with state and federal regulations.

Original source can be found here.