How Trenchless Technology Improves Wastewater Pipe Repair to Support Municipalities

A municipality, known more commonly as a town or self-governed city, relies on a complex infrastructure of pipes and drainage systems. Connecting business and commercial buildings with privately owned properties, these systems remove waste and wastewater and deliver fresh water on tap.

That is, until one of the pipes becomes damaged and requires either replacement or rehabilitation.

Where once, pipe excavation, removal, and replacement were considered the norm, now trenchless technology enables local engineers to restore a pipe to full working order without the extensive ground disturbance and work.

In this article, we’re looking specifically at pipe rehabilitation and the role of trenchless technology in cities around the world.

What is Trenchless Technology for Cities?

You need only consider the impact of a single road closure on an entire city to recognise the value and need for trenchless solutions.

When a road is closed for repair work, diversions and redirected routes can wreak havoc.

Now, imagine that the closure is a result of a wastewater pipe leak, which causes water to flood local streets and impact the infrastructure of buildings in the surrounding area. Should that pipe require excavation and replacement, the time and impact on the local area is significant.

Trenchless technology presents an alternative way of restoring wastewater pipes to full working order. It allows pipes to be rehabilitated from above ground, by feeding an innovative CIPP liner into the pipe and activating it, allowing the integrated resin to attach to the wall of the pipe and create a new barrier.

The benefits are tenfold, and span environmental attributes, cost-efficiencies, and high success rates.

Benefits of Trenchless Technology for Pipeline Projects

To recognise the benefits of trenchless technology and CIPP solutions, you need only consider what the alternative looks like.

Without CIPP felt liners, damaged pipes and ineffective wastewater lines need to be uncovered, removed, and either repaired above ground or replaced. The disruption this process brings is extensive, bridging environmental impacts, local delays and traffic queues, and of course, extremely high costs.

The process of bringing in diggers, excavating and retrieving the pipe, and then repairing or replacing it also takes time. And in an industry where time equals money, and disruption impacts both the local economy and businesses, it’s little wonder that a more time and cost-effective alternative has garnered lots of attention.

Trenchless technology makes it possible for wastewater lines and pipes to be rehabilitated in situ – that is, they don’t have to be removed or even excavated. Instead, felt liners made from 75% recycled materials are fed into the pipes, embedded with resin, where they are then activated. The resin fixes itself to the inside wall of the pipe, creating a new layer which keeps wastewater in and external obstacles out.

All of this happens in record time, with a successful CIPP installation able to restore a pipe to full use not only quickly, but with a finished quality that will last for decades to come.

Trenchless Technology vs Traditional Pipe Repair Methods

As mentioned above, the best way to monitor the benefits of trenchless technology is to compare it with the alternative.

Open-cut pipe repair is costly, disruptive, and incredibly unsustainable.

In contrast, trenchless technology minimises the reliance on equipment, reduces the personnel required to manage the project, facilitates efficient restoration of services, and cuts costs.

And with Insituform’s CIPP liners known to restore pipes to full working order for upwards of 50 years, as demonstrated by the first ever fully restored pipe, which is still active and working today, the longevity cannot be questioned.

To discover more about trenchless technology and the role of CIPP liners in restoring full pipeline repair and rehabilitation to local municipalities, get in touch with Insituform today.