The Rockhampton Regional Council's sewer maintenance program, run by Fitzroy River Water (FRW), a business unit of the council, has seen the relining of more than 37 km of sewer mains with diameters of 225 – 900 mm along, with 11.5 km of 150 mm sewer pipes relined in Rockhampton.

Chair of Rockhampton Regional Council’s Water Committee Greg Belz said that continuing wet and unsafe conditions had hampered the progress of the sewer maintenance program over the Christmas period, so he was pleased to see the additional crew get the project back on track.

“As of 29 March, Fitzroy River Water’s trenchless sewer relining program has benefited from four lining crews, three cleaning and CCTV crews and three access chamber location teams operating within the region,” Mr Belz said.

Contractor Kembla Watertech will identify additional relining jobs from the 120 km of CCTV investigation that is being undertaken in sewers in Rockhampton and the 10 km being undertaken in Yeppoon.

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The process to reline 150 mm sewers involves inserting a PVC inner liner into the existing sewer pipes.

The ‘fold and form’ process is used for larger diameters from 300 – 900 mm and involves inserting the heat treated PVC liner with a resin-impregnated bag inside. The bag is then blown out, causing the PVC liner to lock in itself in place inside the host pipe.

Once completed, a CCTV record of the completed reline will be checked and archived.

“This trenchless method of sewer main rehabilitation is best value for ratepayers and minimises the inconvenience to residents, with little need to dig up roads, footpaths and house yards,” Mr Belz said.

Mr Belz believes that, with the anticipated $A5 million budget for the relining component, the sewers of Rockhampton and Yeppoon should be of a strong standard within four years.