The first phase of a Windsor basement flooding prevention program is yielding results.
City Engineer Mark Winterton says a smoke test was recently completed on a sewer running to thousands of homes, and it showed 200 caps missing on cleanouts.
That's the small pipe that sticks out of the grass in front of some homes. "Normally, those should be water-tight. But sometimes people hit them with their lawnmowers or there could be all kinds of different reasons why they might be broken. A lot of people don't even know what they are." Winterton says that small pipe helps with the flow of water to and from treatment plants.
Other cracks and leaks are being identified through smoke testing, which sends a non-toxic, theatrical smoke through Windsor's system. Administration then collects the results and will make recommendations to council based on findings.