Drinking water pipeline for Gothenburg permanently protected

In Gothenburg, a new drinking water pipeline was installed in contaminated soil under the Göta älv river using the HDD method. For safety reasons, the client required the pipeline to be inspected both before and after installation. This task was successfully accomplished with the Barrier Pipe SLA^® System.

Hisingen Island, Sweden’s fifth-largest island, is home to the largest part of the Port of Gothenburg and several oil refinery operations. For the construction of a new water supply pipeline from the center of Gothenburg to Hisingen Island, the Göta älv river had to be crossed over a length of approximately 560 m. The HDD drilling was carried out by BAB Rörtryckning AB. Due to the geological conditions with contaminated soil and drilling at a depth of more than 30 m, crossing the Göta älv river was very complex.

Therefore, the Barrier Pipe SLA^® System in the dimension 630 x 70.3 mm SDR 9 was used. The Barrier Pipe SLA^® System reliably prevents the permeation of harmful substances. The metallic permeation barrier provides permanent protection for sensitive media and the environment. In addition, its electrical properties also allow for pipeline localization and integrity testing before and after trenchless installation. The core pipe and barrier layer are reliably protected by an additive protective layer, making the system suitable for trenchless installation.

The pipes were joined using the butt fusion welding method. The pipe string to be installed was tested for integrity with a high-voltage tester. Only after a positive test result did the installation of the pipe string begin. After the smooth execution of the directional drilling, the pipe string was tested again: even after installation, the integrity of the pipeline was confirmed and approved by the construction management. The pressure pipe and permeation barrier are intact.