Next time there’s a heavy rain, don’t be surprised if the water seems a little too green.

When the weather improves, the DeKalb City Street Department and the DeKalb Sanitary District will put a non-toxic green dye into storm drains in order to test the sewage system.

The test, known as cross-flooding, is being used because leaks can be discovered easier with dye than in smoke testing, which was used before.

The green is a dye that will help the City of DeKalb repair a leaky sewage system.

When storm drains get too full during a storm, the overflow of storm water in the drains can cross over into the city’s sewage systems.

Most of these crossovers from storm drains are because of leaks in the sewage system.

“These leaks from storm drains can fill up and overflow the sewage system,” said district manager, Mike Zima said. “This can cause overflow, and sewage can back up into basements and disrupt operations at the water treatment facility.”

The point of the dye is to find places in the storm drains and sewage systems with I & I, or Inflow and Infiltration, and repair them.

Inflow is when storm water goes immediately into the sewer system.

Infiltration is what happens when storm drains near sewage systems leak through the ground or through other faults into sewer pipes.

And the city has a significant amount of infiltration and inflow that needs to be repaired, Zima said.

The current cold weather, fluctuations in scheduling and the size of the project are keeping the test from having a definite starting schedule.

“Our plan was to send a color camera into the sewer system to look around for the dyed water leaking from storm drains,” Zima said. “With the cold weather mixing with the warmth of the sewage system, the camera lens would fog up and we wouldn’t be able to see anything.”

When the test is completed, the storm drains with the dyed water will be emptied into the Kishwaukee River.

The dyed water will be carried out of town north of College Avenue and downstream through the north First Street bridge.

“That might freak out people in Sycamore,” said freshman English major Sandra Karolus. “But since it’s environmentally sound, there’s no real worries.”

There also are no worries for people afraid of having to drink or shower with green water.

“What we’re doing has nothing to do with the water supply,” said Steve Olsen, sanitary district plant foreman. “This test is for the sewer system, stuff you flush down the drain.”