Monitored transmission pipeline to protect drinking water in Lichtenfels

For Stadtwerke Lichtenfels, security of supply and operational reliability are the top priority. When constructing a new drinking water pipeline through rough and difficult-to-access terrain using low-trench and trenchless installation methods, they therefore used the fully monitored egeplast egeSmart:Integrity DCS pipe system – for maximum safety.

The new drinking water pipeline, with a total length of just under 3.8 km, transports soft water for water blending from Buch am Forst to Grub am Forst and also serves as a backup supply for dry summer periods with high water demand. The route runs through rough and difficult-to-access terrain, through forests along farm tracks, and crosses several roads. For this reason, in addition to open trench installation, installation using trenching and horizontal directional drilling methods was also used – the latter even including rock drilling. To protect their drinking water transmission pipeline, Stadtwerke Lichtenfels therefore opted for the monitored egeSmart:Integrity DCS pipe system. It monitors the functionality of monitored drinking water transmission pipelines during operation and detects pipeline damage at an early stage – even before a leak occurs.

Planning was commissioned to the engineering firm Kittner and Weber. The pipeline was delivered as required in long coils of 300 m each to achieve installation and processing advantages and to have as few connection points as possible. Construction of the pipeline was carried out by VSTR AG Rodewisch after comprehensive instruction in the system by egeplast technicians. Michael Holhut, Stadtwerke Lichtenfels, says: “We chose the egeSmart:Integrity DCS pipe system because the route is relatively long and difficult to access. Monitoring solely via inlet and outlet meters results in response times that are too long, and with the system it is now possible to locate damage or leakage to within a metre and rectify it quickly.”