The town of Refugio, Texas, has awarded Insituform Technologies, Inc., a $2.4 million contract to repair or replace approximately half of the town's sewer mains over the next year as part of an effort to reduce the amount of infiltration and inflow into the town's sewer system. Most will be restored to like-new condition using trenchless methods that will be performed without digging up city streets or causing major traffic disruption.
The project involves over six miles of sewer lines. More than three miles of pipe will be rehabilitated using Insituform's trenchless cured-in-place-pipe ("CIPP") process. Since the majority of the deteriorated sewers run beneath or nearby streets, with many of the lines ranging from eight to 15 inches in diameter and at a depth of 20 feet, replacing the lines would be complicated and expensive. Therefore, CIPP was determined to be the most cost-effective, nondisruptive solution. Pipebursting was chosen as the best method to replace approximately 10,000 feet of six-inch sewer lines that the town wanted to upsize to eight inches. The pipebursting process is the only trenchless pipe rehabilitation method that enables a city to enlarge the size of its sewers without excavating.
Approximately 6,500 feet of the sewers are shallow and not located near streets or where disruption would be a concern and will therefore be dug up and replaced.
The work, which is scheduled to begin in late May, should be completed within a year and is being funded jointly by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Grant and the town of Refugio.
"By employing a variety of pipe rehabilitation methods, Insituform will save the town more than $500,000, compared to the cost of digging up and replacing all the lines," Anthony W. (Tony) Hooper, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Insituform said.
Source: Insituform Technologies, Inc.
