WHITESTOWN — Contractor crews will test sewer lines in the town this week as part of the engineering study for the Oneida County Sewer District’s overflow abatement project.

Neighborhoods slated for smoke testing are:

-- The area bounded by Rayhill Trail, Middle Settlement Road, Sadaquada Apartments and Clark Mills Road. This area includes Glen Haven, Devereaux Estates, Forest Glen, Strawberry Fields, and Amber Crossing.

-- Dunham Manor east of Hollywood Drive, Clinton Street between Hollywood Drive and Balsam Circle and Herthum Road and side streets.

The test locates leaks, faulty connections and broken pipelines in the system. Such problems can allow rainwater to seep into the sewer system, overwhelming its capacity and causing overflows, according to Steve Devan, county commissioner of water quality and water pollution control, whose office is overseeing the district project. The county is under a state order to fix the overflow problem by Oct. 31, 2014. Officials have estimated the total cost of fixing the sewer problem at $180 million; the local cost will be paid for by the sewer district residents.

Recently, similar smoke testing was conducted in New Hartford.

During the test, artificial smoke is put into the sewer line, then the line is monitored to see where the smoke exits the system. Residents may see smoke exiting through the ground, yard and area drains, manholes, vent stacks on buildings, and foundation drains. Devan noted that the smoke has no odor, is non-toxic, non-staining, does not create a fire hazard and dissipates within a few minutes.

For more information and background on the project to fix the overflow situation, go to the county’s Web site, www.ocgov.net and click on the link for the Oneida County Sewer District.