Safe sewage disposal thanks to a leakage-monitored pressure pipe
In Neckargerach, the decommissioning of the old treatment plant was associated with the need to build a nearly 9 km-long pressure pipe to the Obrigheim sewage treatment plant. This challenging project was implemented using egeplast SLM® DCS pipes
Project data
| Project description | Construction of a sewage pressure pipe between the Neckargerach and Obrigheim treatment plants |
| Challenges | Safe transportation of sewage through drinking water protection zones II+III as well as a flood plain; culvert of the river Neckar |
| Solution | Fully monitored SLM® DCS pipes + DCS pigging stations |
| Installation | Open trench construction and horizontal drilling method |
| Pipe system | SLM® DCS |
| Parties involved in the projec | Client / Municipality of: Gemeinde Neckargerach Planning: SAG Ingenieure Installation: HLT Baugesellschaft Neckargerach |
Fully monitored through drinking water protection zones
Since continuing the operations of the treatment plant in Neckargerach would only have been possible in the longer run following comprehensive construction measures, a decision was made to connect the municipality of Neckargerach to the sewage treatment plant of Obrigheim. A challenging project, indeed, at the heart of which was the construction of a sewage pressure pipe between the two sewage plants. The specific challenge was the following: The pressure pipe was to be laid across a flood plain along the river Neckar as well as through drinking water protection zones II+III (approx. 500 m).
To safely divert the sewage, the contractor, the planning office SAG Ingenieure based in Ulm, opted in favour of fully monitored egeplast SLM® DCS pipes, which were properly installed by HLT Bau GmbH. The intelligent early warning system of these pipes offers two decisive advantages: On one hand, permanent leakage monitoring allows for documenting damage-free installation, on the other, it permits to detect and remedy any potential damages as early as during the construction phase.
Primarily, this is important because, in view ofthe particularities along the pipe route, the installation process was complex. As a result, in addition to open trench construction used for the largest part of the route, directional drilling was performed for a total of seven subsections to enable guiding the pressure pipe underneath various water bodies. Owing to the challenging geology of these segments, monitoring the pipes for potential damages as early as during the insertion process, offered a major advantage. After all, it allows for performing low-cost, fast and uncomplicated repair of damages. Moreover, this kind of technology helps to prevent ground disturbance not only during the construction phase, but also on a permanent basis, since the system enables long-term monitoring.
Maintenance & cleaning
For easy maintenance and cleaning of the pipeline during operation, various SLM® DCS pigging stations were installed. The latter are user-friendly, fast and clean, they can be operated from the top ground surface and ensure cleaning of the pipeline during operation. This way, the flow through the pipeline remains unaffected, and the pipeline can be operated economically from the very beginning and permanently.
egeplast
SLM® DCS
| Clear proof of damage-free installation |
| additional protective layer made from PEplus |
| electrically conductive strips for damage detection and functional monitoring |
| inner pipe made from PE 100-RC |
Kilian Eberle
egeplast international GmbH
Tel. +49 171 775 4577
kilian.eberle@egeplast.de
