Aug 18 2009

Sewage Sniffers

Posted by: Katie Romans

Environmental consulting firms are looking at sewage-sniffing canines to help seaside communities in Maine and New Hampshire reduce the cost of their cleanup efforts by reducing the number of dye tests and follow-up lab work usually involved in detecting sewage.

One such dedicated dog is Sable, the three-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd mix found at a shelter and trained to become a member of the field crew at environmental consulting firm Tetra Tech.

Where Sable comes in particularly handy is in cities with storm sewers that date back so far they have never actually been mapped. In these cases, the cost of cleaning up the underground network of pipes is significant. Because Sable is able to track the scent of sewage to where it originates upstream, there is no need for the labor and travel time associated with dye testing to navigate the storm system.

The occupational choice is not just a win for communities seeking to protect their shorelines from sewage. According to the dog's trainer, Sable is willing and eager to sniff out sewage every day -- all in a day's work for this doggy.

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