New Technology will be Used to Fix Sewer Main

Source from:  By Karen Karaszkiewicz, Times Staff Writer November 17, 2007  11/19/2007

New technology that will be used to fix a sewer main in a Sykesville neighborhood with significant flooding problems could become a pilot method to repair other pipes throughout the county. Rather than completely replacing a clay pipe that was improperly installed under Bunker Hill Court, the Carroll County Bureau of Utilities plans to solve the problem by inserting a flexible pipe liner that, once installed, uses ultraviolet light to harden the material, said Bureau Chief Joe Barrington. The project is intended to alleviate years of wastewater flooding in several basements which is caused by a cracked and sagging pipe that was placed too deep below the ground when the development was built in 1978. Previous estimates of the cost to fix the pipe ranged from $315,000 to more than $500,000, Barrington said. However, the synthetic pipe liner costs only $73 per foot to install, because contractors can feed the pipe through manholes without having to excavate, he said. With only 190 feet of material needed to improve the pipe, the project would cost a little less than $14,000. "I don't see any downside," said Barrington, who attended a demonstration on the pipe relining process Thursday in Mountville, Pa., by the construction company Abel Recon. A representative from the company will attend the next Sykesville Town Council meeting Nov. 26 to explain the process and present samples of the material, which Barrington said could last 30 to 50 years. "The challenge is: Try to break it," he said. The pipe relining on Bunker Hill Court should be completed by spring, but Barrington said the county could use the material for future repairs if the project is successful. Since July, engineering consultants contracted by the county have been conducting flow studies and inspecting several pipes throughout Hampstead and the Eldersburg area, where the county operates and maintains its wastewater treatment plants. Barrington said the pipes were identified during previous engineering studies as areas where repairs might be needed. "Now we're just verifying whether they were correct," he said. Enditem