Drain maintenance engineers are using new technology in Bath in a bid to restore a sewer’s structural integrity.
The ‘keyhole surgery’ technique being employed by the team of drainage experts involves liners being inserted into a working drain to stop the infiltration of tree roots into the drainage system. The pipe that is currently undergoing this technique runs through woodland in Brassknocker Hill and the liner is a staggering 452 metres long.
The project is complicated, but Mike Horton who is a critical sewer technician believes his team are up to the task. He stated:
“These liners allow us to extend the life of a sewer by up to 100 years and will ensure the local environment and sewerage services are preserved for the next generation.”
Before further adding:
“This is a challenging scheme because the longest liner we are using is around ten times the length of the average ones used in our sewerage network.
“But the benefits of inserting this liner are great as it will allow us to repair a sewer which would be extremely difficult and costly to access using conventional methods which involve making excavations along the entire pipe route.”
The scheme started at the beginning of this week and is expected to take around two weeks to complete. When the sewer has been relined, a robot is sent into the pipe and CCTV images of the work sent to the surface so it can be inspected.