With the inception of the business in 1993 Drilline initially focused on horizontal thrust boring, pipe cracking, microtunnelling and other drilling applications. In 2002 Drilline secured the license for the enviroliner methodology with Kembla Watertech, and has further strengthened their position in the market.
Hand-in-hand with the enviroliner technology, Drilline offers a full range of services including CCTV surveys, using the WinCam Reporting software, jet-washing and root-cutting.
The skilled professionalism of the Drilline team has seen the successful completion of a range of large projects. One such project in 2003 involving the reline of 3.8 km of pipe in Nedlands, under dense housing, business premises, a main highway and Hollywood Hospital, led to Drilline and the Water Corporation being nominated for an Engineering Excellence Award from the Institute of Engineers Australia.
In 2004 the team completed the reline of a 1.2 km 685 mm diameter sewer in Cottesloe, WA, running parallel with a Heritage listed beach. Installing the 32 mm thick walled liner, at times to a depth of
10 m, proved challenging but was again a great success.
A more recent and high profile project was the refurbishment of a collapsed sewer line in Perth which was closely followed by the West Australian media. When homes and businesses were flooded with raw sewage in the early hours of May 22, 2005 the Water Corporation took immediate action and contacted Drilline.
A concrete sewer pipe, built in 1913, collapsed under Horden Street in Victoria Park, causing sewage to bubble from residents’ drains and a section of the road to collapse when the surrounding sand and debris was washed away.
Using the Enviroliner CIPP technology, Drilline rehabilitated the affected pipeline and assisted in restoring the services to the local homes. With the sewage on bypass, the Drilline crews were able to work around the clock surveying the damage and cleaning the sewer lines with CCTV, Wincam and jetwashing equipment.
With stock of 525 mm diameter, not available locally, Drilline immediately organised the overnight airfreight of liner from Kembla Watertech in New South Wales. The balance of the line required was placed on the next available plane from a supplier in the United Kingdom.
The moment the liner had arrived, the Drilline crews set about completing the site preparation and preparing the liner for installation. The first initial reline on the more critical area was completed in a
24 hour period, using the liner supplied by Kembla, just days after the collapse, with the focus being to alleviate the impact on affected residents. Once the liner from the UK arrived, it was wet-out, installed and cured.
In total, Drilline rehabilitated 615 m of 525 mm diameter sewer line, and finalised works in ten days, resulting in another success story for Drilline.
