The Department of Public Works of Baltimore County, Md., selected RJN Group Inc. to provide professional engineering services for a Force Main Inspection Program in accordance with guidelines that were established in the Consent Decree between the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Inspection and evaluation of force mains will be carried out utilizing techniques that are appropriate to the specific characteristics of each force main. Techniques that could be included are visual and Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Inspections, radiography, ultrasonic and sonar, and coupon sampling.
To determine the proper means of inspection and evaluation for each force main a risk assessment will be performed to find out the risk for failure. The risk assessment will integrate all collected information about the criticality and integrity of the pipeline and consequence of failure.
A condition assessment will also be performed in order to provide data that will establish a force main criticality ranking and establish which methods are the most suitable for operating and maintaining the force main in the future.
The Force Main Inspection Program is expected for completion by January 2013.
Source: RJN Group Inc.
