Flow Monitoring Program

This program is designed to identify sanitary sewer problems within DeKalb County sewer lines in order to prevent inflow and infiltration (I/I).

Infiltration is defined as water that enters the system from the ground through defective pipes, pipe joints, connections, or manhole walls. Inflow is defined as water discharged into the sewer from sources such as building and foundation drains, drains from wet or swampy areas, manhole covers, cross connections, catch basins, or surface runoff.

Our main objective is to identify when I/I occurs. We achieve this by installing monitors to check the sewer capacity; we collect and analyze data; and we are continuously locating and identifying new problem sites in order to prevent sewer overflows. The data that is collected and analyzed from the monitor and rain gauge sites detect problems in the sewer lines. The data provides information that helps determine the condition of the sewer lines, how much excess water or rainfall enters the sewer line, and when the county has a sanitary sewer overflow.

The Flow Monitoring Program has been an outstanding program in the Department of Watershed Management. We are determined to serve our customers better by reducing sewer overflows and ensuring adequate capacity. Our efforts also help the waterways to stay free of sewage overflows and improve the quality of our rivers and streams.

There are over 123 monitoring sites throughout DeKalb County. Out of the total monitoring sites, there are 58 temporary sites, 20 modem sites, 5 rain gages, and 45 new Telog sites. We are currently in the process of installing more Telog sites.