Tests to check for leaks in the Gloucester sewer system have almost been completed, said Marty Schlesinger, the county’s utilities director.

Schlesinger said that consultant URS Corporation, with local offices in Newport News and Virginia Beach, has completed smoke tests of all sewer lines except in a small area of Gloucester Point. That section will be completed when the consultant is available to perform the test later this summer.

The tests are necessary to determine leaks and possible contamination to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, Schlesinger said.

The testing is required as part of a regional consent order that affects all member jurisdictions of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, Schlesinger said. Following the tests, the consultant will issue a report with the results of its sewer line findings.

Later, the county’s Public Utilities Committee may discuss ways to correct the leaks, such as repair, replacement or rehabilitation, Schlesinger said. Also, tests will be conducted this summer on some of the county’s pump stations to ensure they are working efficiently.

In other matters, the county’s public water system has ample water supplies, he said, and the hot weather has brought an increase in demand, about 15 percent, over normal usage.

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