Sewer Surprise

The various “Call Before You Dig” signs that utility companies post on their billing documents and elsewhere are intended to alert people for the need to ensure there are no services in the area of planned digging. While the consequences of a construction project terminating a television or telephone service are not quite as dangerous as cutting through a power or gas line, getting the ground marked is always a prudent idea. As there are several services buried underground, they are assigned different colour codes to identify them. Buried water lines are identified by the colour blue, hydro power is red and yellow is used for gas. Now, what colour do you think is used to mark sewer lines? Brown? No. How about green? Although the colour used for water, hydro and gas appears appropriate, you need to scratch your head to see how sewers and green go together. Perhaps with the colour green being associated with nature and environmentally appealing, the City of Ottawa wants to divert our attention away from what is actually in the pipe below; particularly during major storms when the system can’t handle the entire volume and surplus sewage ends up in the Ottawa River. Not so green!