LEWISTON – Sewer crews will be blowing smoke into city sewer lines in the Randall Road neighborhood for the next two weeks, looking for leaks.

“We’ve been seeing higher flows in that area, especially during storms,” said Jeff Beaule, city water system coordinator. That could mean breaks in the city sewer lines.

“We have some cross-country sewer mains that follow the brooks, and there may be some broken pipes out there in the woods,” he said. “This will help us find it.”

Crews attach a five horsepower blower to a manhole and fire up the engine. Then, they pump in liquid smoke – a petroleum-based fluid that gives off a non-toxic, non-staining smoke when it burns. The blowers fill the sewer lines with thick smoke for a good 100 feet. Crews then fan out, looking for puffs of smoke.

“We should actually see very little,” Beaule said. If they do, it could mean a broken pipe or an unknown connection to storm drains.

They’ll pump smoke into manholes every 1,000 feet along Randall Road and Old Greene Road through Aug. 25.

The work is part of the preparations for next year’s work on the Randall Road pump station. Crews will be rebuilding that station next year.

Beaule said homeowners should run some water down each of their drains, enough to keep water in the dry traps. He urged anyone who sees smoke to contact the city.

“They shouldn’t see anything, unless something is wrong with their plumbing connection,” he said.