To improve the drinking water supply, a transport pipeline for treated drinking water was laid in Aspach – partly without a sand bed using open-cut construction, and partly using the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method. To prevent water loss and ensure a rapid response in the event of damage, the permanently monitorable egeSmart:Integrity DCS pipe system was utilized.
Water supply concept for the Rems-Murr district
Based on an extensive supply concept, several municipalities, together with NOW (Zweckverband Wasserversorgung Nordostwürttemberg), decided to implement a joint project to improve the drinking water supply in the northern Rems-Murr district. In addition to NOW, the project sponsors include the municipalities of Oppenweiler, Leutenbach, Allmersbach im Tal, Aspach, Burgstetten, and the Backnang public utilities. The own water of the participating partners is to be brought together via raw water pipes at the NOW Murrtal waterworks, treated, and distributed back to the municipalities via clean water pipes. The concept is supported by funding from the state of Baden-Württemberg.
In the municipal area of Aspach, the pipeline route begins north of the community of Rietenau at the elevated reservoir and continues past the north of Allmersbach a. Weinberg to the Einöd pumping station. The route length of the transport pipelines measures 4.5 km. The total length of the pipelines to be laid for raw water & clean water is 9.5 km. Along the route, the water pipes are laid via farm tracks, through meadow orchards, on agricultural land, and further along several times through vineyards, which posed a challenge for construction site logistics due to the very cramped conditions in the vineyards. A sand bed was dispensed with. The construction project is largely being carried out using open-cut construction. In two sub-sections, the pipelines were laid using the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method.

A problem with pipelines of this length is that any leaks may only be noticed very late using traditional differential measurement between inlet and outlet meters, providing only an indication of possible damage to the pipeline – meaning there is room for interpretation and no reliable information on actual damage to the pipeline. Furthermore, a leak is often very difficult to locate and repair, requiring a great deal of time and effort.
To prevent water loss and ensure a rapid response in the event of damage, the Zweckverband Wasserversorgung Nordostwürttemberg, in coordination with the municipality of Aspach, decided to execute all pipelines in construction section 3.2.2 with the egeSmart:Integrity DCS pipe system. “The system offers the possibility of permanently monitoring the pipeline. In the event of damage, the monitoring unit reports in real time to the control room at the NOW headquarters in Crailsheim, and we can measure and repair the damage with an accuracy of one meter,” says Marco Düring from the Zweckverband Wasserversorgung Nordostwürttemberg.

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egeSmart:Integrity DCS
Early warning system for monitoring critical infrastructure
Pipe location
Manual damage localization
SMS signal
Permanent or discontinuous monitoring
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