Smoke puffing out of the most unlikely places has drawn curious stares and even emptied buildings in Tauranga's downtown area.
The mundane task of making sure there were no cross-overs between the city's sewer and stormwater pipes has sparked some interesting diversions for adults and children alike.
Council drainage services
manager Graeme Dohnt said smoke testing the sewers had even led to the evacuation of the Westpac Building after it triggered smoke alarms. "Something was broken inside that should not have been."
It was the highest profile incident in what had otherwise been a fairly routine procedure - occasionally arousing public bewilderment at the sight of smoke wafting out of street stormwater grates, more reminiscent of Rotorua than Tauranga.
Mr Dohnt said staff knew they had a problem when smoke emerged out of the earth along Selwyn St behind the fire station. Smoke testing revealed that an earlier pipe thrusting operation had broken a line of connections between houses and the sewer main. Even the the Tauranga Art Gallery had problems when smoke started coming out of a sprinkler box.