In mid-2014 South Burnett Regional Council, about 2 hours North West of Brisbane, issued over 18km of relining works, their largest ever sewer main relining and junction sealing contract. Works were to be completed in the 2014/15 financial year with a preference for the relining portion to be complete before Christmas.
The key challenges for Council were to ensure these works were delivered safely, quickly and on budget.
Christian Dummett, Project Manager for Abergeldie Watertech who is based in Queensland, agreed that the scope of works and timeline were daunting.
“We realised early on that to deliver all the relining works by December we would need to use both of our Queensland crews and additional resources from NSW. Having access to additional skilled operators meant that in the early stages we could have three lining crews working concurrently. This ensured the target was met.”
The project challenges included keeping residents informed, keeping the crews fully utilised and ensuring safe and high quality works. Paul Hymas, Queensland Operations Manager for Abergeldie Watertech, oversaw the operation.
“We completed the relining works with multiple crews in multiple locations with no variations and all customer questions addressed promptly and efficiently. Strong on-site supervision by Rob Alexander ensured any site risks and customers’ or Council’s needs could be managed. This included letter drops and door knocking to keep the end customers fully informed. Council were very supportive and provided great visibility of works and known issues which meant we could plan to succeed,” said Paul.
Matt Wyvill, Services & Project Coordinator – Water & Wastewater with South Burnett Regional Council (SBRC) agreed that the project ran smoothly with few issues and highlighted Council’s commitment to ensuring long term sustainability and efficiency of wastewater infrastructure.
“We have begun to decrease the number of blockages, surcharges and overflows while also decreasing infiltration and exfiltration of sewage into surrounding soils and significantly extending asset life. Trenchless technology was determined as the most appropriate and cost effective method to undertake this work. With benefits to SBRC including cost effectiveness, low impact on surrounding environment and minimal disruption to services,” explained Matt.
The Trenchless Lining Method
Abergeldie Watertech offers a full suite of trenchless renewal methods including UV, CIPP, Spiral and EX. Due to the nature of the works (pipe diameters from 150 to 300mm) the EX Method was recommended. EX is a PVC no dig structural ‘fold and form’ lining system manufactured in Australia exclusively for Abergeldie. Soft and folded EX is winched into the existing pipe and expanded using steam to form and fit tightly with the host pipe. The new EX pipe has no joints and provides the same strength, durability and long life of a new PVC pipe. Importantly, EX is able to line through displaced joints which significantly reduces the need for any civil works.
Members of the Abergeldie Watertech team (left to right), Paul Hymas, Rob Alexander, Christian Dummett, with a sample of EX Pipe in Brisbane office.
About Abergeldie
Abergeldie is a civil engineering contractor with over 25 years’ experience providing services in the utilities, energy and infrastructure sectors: the complex infrastructure needed to build better communities.
