Kembla has been using pipe cracking technology for replacement and upsizing of sewer mains for the last five years (see, “When Size is Important” in the June 2007 issue of Trenchless Australasia). The experience gained over this period coupled with the purchase of new static pipe bursting equipment has enabled the company to efficiently transfer this technology into water main applications.

Bowral is situated in the Southern Highlands of NSW and is home to the Bradman Foundation and the Bradman Museum. Recently, it was also home to Kembla Watertech’s first venture into watermain rehabilitation.

The company’s experienced pipe bursting crew from Victoria worked alongside its Sydney-based civil works crew to replace 2.7 km of 100 mm diameter AC and CI watermains. Kembla’s new Vermeer HB5058 static pipe bursting machine was used to split open the existing pipe and pull in a new 125 mm diameter HDPE PN16 pressure pipe.

This job had a combination of residential streets in urban and semi urban locations, sections of pipe in steep terrain with sweeping bends, and lengths of asbestos cement host pipe.

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Milang is a small community on the foreshore of Lake Alexandrina. The water main network servicing the township was constructed using reinforced concrete rubber ring jointed pipes and these are now in such poor condition that the mains operating pressure has been reduced to prevent continuing bursts and leaks.

In April this year, SA Water called tenders for the supply and lay of approximately 3,870 m of DN150 and 765 m of DN100 Series 2 PN16 MPVC or OPVC main.

The water company has long been an advocate of Trenchless Technology for sewer main rehabilitation and has completed numerous sewer pipe relining projects.

SA Water was keen to assess the use of Trenchless Technologies with respect to watermain rehabilitation and so the documents provided for alternatives to be submitted in addition to a conforming tender.

Kembla was subsequently awarded the tender based on its alternative proposal to use its static pipe bursting equipment to replace the concrete pipes in situ with polyethylene pressure pipe.

Work is progressing on site and the use of pipe bursting technology is proving to be just as quick as dig and relay, but with much less disruption to the community.

The successful expansion of Kembla’s pipe bursting capability into the watermain rehabilitation market as evidenced in these two projects is a forerunner to the company’s aim to expand its existing ‘fold and formed’ and CIPP technologies into this area as well.