The Advantages, Disadvantages And Other Aspects Of Street Flushing

Cleaning the streets comes in many forms and methods. And it is purposely necessary that street flushing is done on a scheduled basis when the locale is a sprawling metropolis like the Greater Toronto Area. Street flushing needs a special kind of equipment, along with trained personnel to accomplish the activity. It also requires other form of paraphernalia to make street cleaning safe and effective.

Large trucks with pressurize nozzles are needed for street flushing, and the advantages of this cleaning method are as follows:

1) Quick and systematic cleaning of street surfaces and pavements even when cars are parked or when there are other obstruction on the street
2)Other street operation could continue despite the wet pavement or surface of the street.
3)Street flushing activities could be done during the night hours.
4)Containment of dust that emits from the street surface.

While the preceding statements shows the good side of street flushing it also has some disadvantages which are shown below:

1)Expense and cost for street flushing are higher in comparison to dry cleaning methods of the street surfaces.
2)It could increase water pollution problem and drainage clogging.
3)Street flushing is not considered to be a total cleaning technique since it removes surface dirt but leaves it at street curbs.
4)Pedestrians and vehicles present during street flushing could unavoidably get wet in the process due to the strong pressure of emitted water.
5)When traffic is at its peak, the implementation of street flushing must be delayed until it thins out.

The flush process of cleaning needs trained personnel who must work with bright overall or suits. This is a requirement for safety because the bright colored overall suit lets them stand out in the crowded street making motorist aware of their presence so accidents due to speeding or driver oversight is minimized.

Flushing helps remove dirt, silt, oil, mud and other forms of debris that remain lying on the street surface. By removing these things using high pressured water, the streets are made safer for both motorists and pedestrians of Ontario because it prevents accidents which are associated with slippery oil from vehicle machines and eliminates the possibility of injury because of the presence of small pointed or round stones scattered about.

However, while flushing with water is a convenient way of cleaning the streets within the GTA, it could lead to having more pollutants that could make their way to the natural waterways. The said pollutants which are said to encroach the clean water systems does not necessarily come from the sand, silt, mud or natural dirt from the street. It comes from the combination of these natural elements with hydrocarbons from the exhausts and oil spills of vehicles that generally traverse the streets.

Since flushing requires strong water to push the dirt and debris towards the drainage holes, the possibility of having drainage clog ups is a big possibility because of the presence of debris within the inner drainage pipes. This debris may come in the form of twigs, tree branches, leaves and yard trimmings. To minimize the effects of a clogged up drainage that may eventually lead to unnecessary flooding and sewer backups in the future, residents must help by properly packing and disposing their yard trimmings. Leaves should be swept up or raked in and place in trash liners or other recycling receptacles that could be covered. By contributing a little effort in the maintenance of the surroundings, the adverse effects of flushing the streets could be reduced.

Seed Newsvine

Bookmark this article in your preferred program

Comments

Add Comment

Popular Articles in this cathegory

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.