Submitted by elisican on Mon, 2011-05-16 10:07
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By: Jayne Bringer
Sometimes all a tough project needs is an innovative solution. In December 2010, a project to repair a 12-in. water main required just that. The Water Services Department in the city of Phoenix was faced with a damaged water main that needed to be fixed.
The Water Services Department called on Dibble Eng. and Insituform Technologies to address the specialized pipe problem. The concrete-coated and concrete-lined steel municipal water distribution main had failed within the Arizona Department of Transportation right of way and was leaking water under Interstate 17, increasing the potential for sinkholes, water main breaks or other roadway damage.
Running through an area of both residential and commercial properties, digging up the pipe was not a viable solution. However, a structurally-sound repair solution was still needed.
Team Effort
Working together to engineer a solution, the consulting engineer and contractor opted to repair the damaged main with Insituform’s InsituMain System. The InsituMain System is a fully-structural cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) product that uses glass-reinforced tubing, making it suitable for pressurized applications.
David Rosenberg, business development manager for Insituform, explained the reasoning behind using the new product.
“The InsituMain System worked for the Phoenix project because it provides a fully-structural solution that’s comparable to new pipe installation, but with minimal disruption,” he said.
The section of main ran roughly 250 ln ft underneath Interstate 17 in the Sweetwater area of Phoenix and required special preparation and planning.
The tube, manufactured in Batesville, Miss., was impregnated with an NSF-approved epoxy resin suitable for drinking water applications at a nearby wet out facility serving the western United States. As epoxy resin has short pot life; it must be kept cold during transport to the jobsite using shade, refrigerated trucks and ice.
Once the tube is delivered to the jobsite, it is installed using a traditional water inversion, water cure process. The project took a total of 39 days from Nov. 15 to Dec. 23, 2010.
Down in History
Once installed, the new pipe-within-a-pipe was pressure-tested to a rate of 150 psi before being deemed a successful completion. The project would go on to be designated as the first successful potable pressure line rehabilitation using CIPP in the state of Arizona. It recently won the Arizona American Public Works Assn.’s (APWA) Project of the Year in the Environment category.
“This award-winning project was a success because the entire team worked together to ensure the specifications, including the use of the InsituMain System for pressure pipes, were adhered to during rehabilitation of this deteriorated potable water main located under a critical Interstate transportation corridor,” said Joe Graham, P.E., infrastructure rehabilitation practice leader for Dibble Eng.
Other positives of the project include the environmental benefits incurred by using a trenchless product. In addition to less digging and excavation, using CIPP means fewer pollutants, shorter construction time and less energy used during the installation process.
The project serves as a great example of contractor and consultant working together to successfully meet a client’s needs.
“Dibble Engineering is proud to be part of the team entrusted to successfully complete the first potable water main relining project in Arizona,” Graham said.
The Project of the Year honor, announced April 21 by the Arizona Chapter of the APWA, will be presented at the Arizona APWA Conference Aug. 8 and 9 later this year.
Jayne Bringer is senior marketing specialist for Insituform Technologies Inc.
Insituform Technologies
Chesterfield, MO 63005
(636) 530-3329
jbringer@insituform.com
