City Advises Business Owners to Sustain Preventative Maintenance During COVID-19
Medicine Hat – The City of Medicine Hat reminds building owners and managers to maintain appropriate water levels in floor and sink drains to avoid sewer gas release into interior spaces.
“Many commercial businesses and facilities are now closed due to COVID-19 and the water within P-shaped traps below floor drains and in sink drains may evaporate, making way for dangerous sewer vapors to escape through those drains,” said Brian Graham, Manager of Field Operations in Environmental Utilities with the City of Medicine Hat.
Sewer gas contains Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) which, at low concentrations, will smell like rotten eggs, but at higher concentrations cannot be detected by smell and becomes a threat to life.
Building owners and managers can take the following steps to prevent evaporation:
Ensure all commercial kitchens and restrooms remain well-ventilated during the pandemic.
Pour a small amount of water in every building drain and sink each week.
Do not use bleach or chemicals, as the goal is not to clean the drains, but to keep the P-trap full.
When it is time to re-open the facilities, water should be poured into all drains again.
If you suspect sewer gas is present inside your building, open the doors and windows to ventilate and then put water into the P-traps.
For further information, please contact:
Public Information Officer
City of Medicine Hat
403.548.9675
“Many commercial businesses and facilities are now closed due to COVID-19 and the water within P-shaped traps below floor drains and in sink drains may evaporate, making way for dangerous sewer vapors to escape through those drains,” said Brian Graham, Manager of Field Operations in Environmental Utilities with the City of Medicine Hat.
Sewer gas contains Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) which, at low concentrations, will smell like rotten eggs, but at higher concentrations cannot be detected by smell and becomes a threat to life.
Building owners and managers can take the following steps to prevent evaporation:
Ensure all commercial kitchens and restrooms remain well-ventilated during the pandemic.
Pour a small amount of water in every building drain and sink each week.
Do not use bleach or chemicals, as the goal is not to clean the drains, but to keep the P-trap full.
When it is time to re-open the facilities, water should be poured into all drains again.
If you suspect sewer gas is present inside your building, open the doors and windows to ventilate and then put water into the P-traps.
For further information, please contact:
Public Information Officer
City of Medicine Hat
403.548.9675
Stay up to date.
Subscribe to eNotifications to stay connected with City of Medicine Hat news, activities, events, programs, operations and more.
