Wastewater Department

The City of Webb City wastewater collection system consists of a total of 63 miles of pipe, 9 lift stations, and over 1000 manholes. This vital infra-structure is put in place to maintain sanitary conditions for the important residents of our city. This entire collection system was recently surveyed having the physical location and elevation recorded by a sophisticated GPS (Global Position System) unit so that this information could be added to a GIS (Geographic Information system) data base. This data base which includes electronic mapping will be invaluable to assist the waste water department in quickly finding sewer manholes that are buried, and for designing future main line replacements, and extensions of the collection system.

The wastewater collections department consists of a five man crew who professionally serve the residents by maintaining the system in the best possible condition they can. Their assignments are to inspect, clean, replace, and maintain our collection system. The crew is able to perform these duties repectively along with responding to emergency calls, and replacing broken down sections of sewer pipe. The crew utilizes several pieces of equipment to accomplish these great tasks which includes: a powerful rodding machine to break up tough roots, a large truck equipped with a high pressure nozzle to clean the inside of sewer mains, this same truck is also equipped with a large 10 inch vacuum hose to remove any roots, grease or other debris from the sewer main the nozzle breaks loose while cleaning, a remote controlled camera to travel inside of sewer mains to inspect, and record the conditions of pipes, and manholes for cracks, or clogs.

To replace, and install new sewer mains the crew has procured a backhoe, an excavator, and two dump trucks. Under the direction of Director William Runkle this important work is orchestrated by Superintendent: John Pottorff, and Foreman: Darren Chitwood, along with three laborers. Between both John and Darren they have more than 55 years combined experience in the construction and utility industries. John has worked in both the construction, and municipal industries; Darren has worked in construction, municipal, and private sector utility industry for 30+ years.

This invaluable crew was assembled to help remediate one of the greatest challenges of collection systems everywhere across the country; caused by an aging infrastructure, and old outdated plumbing practices of the time. This challenge has an acronym called SSO’s and it stands for Sanitary Sewer Overflow; an unsanitary situation where, during high rain events, some singular locations in the system cannot fully contain both the waste water and rain water. During an SSO, the water will surcharge, or overflow through a manhole. This event is primarily caused by a situation with another acronym - I&I which stands for Inflow & Infiltration. Inflow is caused from storm water drains being connected to the sanitary sewer system instead of being connected to a separate storm water system. Infiltration is caused by pipes 50 to 100 years old or more, that are cracked and broken down which allows ground water to enter in to the collection system. During a rain event you could see how this could present a very big problem. Because of the potential public health hazard, residents are strongly encouraged to call the wastewater department if they witness water discharging from a manhole.

We also contract with specialized companies who can install a permanent liner inside of the sewer main in areas where it makes more sense to line vs. digging the main up and replacing it. These are the more congested areas and where the sewer main is extremely deep in the ground.

For questions or concerns about our wastewater system please call 417-673-6297.