CIPP Project Leads to Sewer Upgrade in Spanish Town
Garuccha, Spain, a southeastern seaport on the Mediterranean Sea, is largely known as a fishing town and tourist destination. However, it can now be known as being the home of the first-ever European installation of the InsituMain System.
As a coastal resort town, the population of Garuccha increases almost 60 percent each summer. Thus, during the summer months, the community’s water and wastewater needs increase as well. Taking a proactive approach to maintenance, GALASA, the water company that serves the region, decided to upgrade the pressure capabilities of Garuccha’s primary sewage force main, carrying roughly 80 percent of the town’s sewage flow, to accommodate the increase in usage. Simultaneously, upgrades to a nearby pump station presented a window of opportunity to rehabilitate the sewer system using the structural cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) solution.
Hired by local contractor Talleres Caype SA, Insituform upgraded the pressure capabilities of 220 m of a 250-mm sewer force main. Although the original AC pipe was 10-mm thick, the pipe was originally designed in the 1980s to operate at only 2 bar; two completely brand new pumps meant the force main pressure would increase from 2 bar to 4 bar.
Introduced in 2009, the InsituMain System is reinforced by using different weights of glass fabric or by using multi-layered glass fibers to provide added strength and stiffness and to meet the pressure requirements of force mains.
The dry tube material is constructed of a polyethylene-coated layer and a specially-constructed glass layer. An overlapped seam is lightly-bonded during the manufacturing process to ensure the glass stays in proper alignment prior to installation and expansion. The installation pressure overcomes the seam bonding strength and allows the tube to expand to the full size of the host pipe.
The dry tube is impregnated with a specially formulated resin system to mitigate any potential leakage between the tube and host pipe wall, and uses standard Hymax fittings to secure the CIPP to the host pipe before reconnecting to the rest of the pipeline system.
Installation
Specialists from the United States, including Insituform director of corporate development for water Andrew Fulford, and corporate trainer Joe Coyne, traveled to Garuccha to assist in training on the installation process for the new product.
Selecting the trenchless solution allowed City officials to avoid disruption to the scenic nature of the coastal village and minimize any digging of its picturesque streets while renewal took place. According to Fulford, “The InsituMain System was the most cost-effective and least disruptive solution for the Garuccha force main.”
The pipe was rehabilitated during a two-month window while work was being completed on the pumping station, therefore no bypass or other special requirements were needed. Despite narrow streets and an 11-m grade, the pipe was rehabilitated successfully to the client’s specifications.
Fulford added, “We’re proud to successfully complete this initial European InsituMain installation. We look forward to how this new product could potentially change the way utilities renew their pipeline infrastructure in Europe.”
This article was submitted by Insituform Technologies.