Wastewater Collections

The City of Fruita maintains a growing collections system consisting of over 70 miles of sewer lines and eight sewer pump stations. This program includes a robust cleaning and inspection program that help prevent more costly maintenance operations and reduces the amount of sewer backups. The City of Fruita operates two combination vacuum/jetting cleaner trucks and one inspection camera van.  The combination cleaner trucks clean the entire collection system over a two year period and then repeat the process.  The inspection camera van visually inspects sewer lines as a part of new installation approval and routine maintenance of the entire collections system on a three year rotation. Reports from the camera inspection are linked into a data base and cross referenced for future projects with a numerical score to aide in utilization of repair scheduling with other departments to reduce costs. The City of Fruita operates a total of eight sewage pump stations located throughout different parts of the City. These stations pump the collected sewage into the City’s Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Troubling problems dealing with sewer mains and service lines come from nature, age, and improper use of the collections system.  Plants and trees cause the majority of homeowner’s problems due to roots in the service line, which prevents the correct drainage into the sewer main. The age and type of sewer or service line can also play a big part of correct operation.  Older homes and parts of town can have different types of sewer pipe material. A common type of material used is called Orangeburg, which is very similar to tar paper used for roofing. This material only has a certain life span and natural age can cause failure and blockages.  FOGS: Fats, Oils, and Grease not only create havoc on homeowners, it is the leading cost of maintenance to the City.  FOGS lines the inside of the pipe reduce the overall diameter and restricts the flow.  The longer FOGS are introduced into the collection system the greater the challenge to clean and remove. Grease attaches to everything it touches, causing minor issues to become larger problems quickly.

Proper use of service lines and the City’s collection system highly depends upon homeowner’s.  Many items are introduced into the collection system which not only create maintenance problems but are also hazardous to the Operation and Maintenance personnel and the environment.

The following page provides some pictures outlining responsibilities and common problems with sewer mains and homeowner's service lines: