Across Australia and New Zealand, building owners, facility managers and water authorities face the dilemma of what to do with ageing infrastructure. Many pipes installed prior to 1980 are now approaching the end of their working life, and it’s not a matter of “if the pipe will fail” but “when the pipe will fail”.
So how do you resolve the issue of pipes that are either buried very deep, under busy roads, inside a concrete structure, or simply not able to be dug up without disturbing occupants, or for health and safety issues?
THE PROBLEM: INLET PIPE WAS BURIED IN THE ENGINEERED CONCRETE STRUCTURE
In the ACT a clever solution was needed when it came to extending the operational life of a vital piece of infrastructure.
The local water authority was undertaking a renovation of a 60-year-old water reservoir. But, they needed a solution for the large diameter inlet pipe (DN750mm) that was buried deep within the engineered concrete structure.
It wasn’t possible to replace it without destroying an important structural part of the building or potentially delaying the entire renovation for months.
The reservoir supplied water to homes, schools and businesses in the surrounding suburbs, as well as acting as a balancing tank when water was supplied from a nearby water treatment plant. As such, the solution needed to ensure that the reservoir could continue to provide drinking water to the local community safely, and to the high water quality standard required.
THE SOLUTION: PIPE RELINING WITH NUFLOW’S GREENLINE
Nuflow rehabilitated the pipe using our custom Nuflow Greenline Potable Water relining system. This smart solution utilises the Australian engineered Cured In Place Pipe (CIPP) system for rehabilitation of pressurised pipelines.
Nuflow Greenline consists of a custom manufactured liner that is impregnated with epoxy resin that is free of BPA’s and safe for drinking, and often used for large scale commercial plumbing projects. The liner is pulled into place with a bladder that is inflated, forcing the liner against the 750mm diameter concrete pipe. Once cured, the bladder is removed and a new pipe is now operational within the original pipe.
SMALL FOOTPRINT MEANT EFFICIENT ROLL OUT
This fix was far from straightforward. To access the pipe required entry via a confined space entry conditions pit which was approximately 3.5m deep.
Downstream there was a scaffold platform level, with the outlet of the pipe approximately 7 metres above the reservoir floor.
This was a delicate operation which required attention to be paid to even the smallest of details to ensure the safety of everyone on site. Any accidents could close the site and put this vital project behind schedule, which would in turn impact the local water supply.
A large part of the project involved cleaning and preparing the pipe for relining using high pressure water jets. Following the descaling of the inside of the pipe, we built a custom CIPP liner to the exact specifications of the pipe. This process took place on the scaffold platform, resulting in minimal site footprint and allowing other trades to continue to complete their work during the installation.
The installation of the CIPP liner was completed in 3 days including travel, site inductions and establishment, pipe and material preparation, and cold weather condition curing time. But, this was not the end of the project.
Nuflow Smooth Trowel, a specialised Nuflow manufactured product made with Croc Mate, was used on the upstream and downstream ends of the pipe – providing extra strength against water penetration, and assisting with extending the life of the concrete around the inlet to the pipe.
The project was finished on time, and to budget. The client was thrilled with the results delivered by the Nuflow Wollongong crew. They maintained an impeccably clean site and followed direction and safety protocol to the letter.
Nuflow has rehabilitated many pipes across Australia and New Zealand, from Super Yachts to sewers, and even award-winning historic building restorations. We can reline virtually any size, shape or material of pipe.
As the only local manufacturer of pipe relining solutions in Australia and New Zealand, we should be the first people you speak to about your pipe repairs.
