New drinking water pipeline for Amsterdam’s trendy district

As part of the expansion of the drinking water network on a former Amsterdam shipyard site, the egeplast Barrier Pipe SLA^® was pulled in trenchlessly using the HDD method. To cross bodies of water, it was weighted down during installation. The permeation-resistant pipe system is KIWA-certified for the transport of drinking water.

The drinking water project on Amsterdam’s Grasweg was successfully completed by Gebr. van Leeuwen Boring in cooperation with BAM Infra Energie & Water. The former NDSM shipyard in the north of Amsterdam has developed into a cultural hotspot with a constantly growing number of bars, restaurants and artist communities. To expand the drinking water network, a new 770 m-long drinking water pipeline, egeplast Barrier Pipe SLA^® with an OD of 500 mm, was pulled in using the HDD method.

To protect the drinking water on the former shipyard site, the permeation-resistant Barrier Pipe SLA^® was selected. The protective jacket pipe system reliably prevents the permeation of pollutants and is therefore certified by Kiwa Nederland B.V. as a PE pipeline system with an aluminium barrier layer for the transport of drinking water. Damage-free installation of the pressure pipe in trenchless installation is achieved by the special, additive protective layer.

On site, the 20 m pipe lengths were joined using the heated tool butt fusion welding process. Eleven telecranes and several mobile crane systems guided the pipe string in a controlled manner over access roads and paths to the launch pit. There, drilling was initiated and the SLA^® pipe was pulled beneath the harbour basin. To counteract buoyancy caused by air in the pipeline and to reduce resistance during pullback, the pipeline was weighted down. To obtain this additional weight, a second pipe was pulled in and filled with water. “After five hours, the SLA^® pipe reached the reception pit and the drilling was successfully completed to the great satisfaction of everyone involved,” said site manager John Henzen of Gebr. van Leeuwen. BAM Infra Energie & Water documented the construction work with a camera. You can watch the video at www.egeplast.de/egeplastube

Barrier Pipe SLA^® with an aluminium barrier layer is now also KIWA-certified for highly contaminated Class III soils. The protective jacket pipe system reliably prevents the permeation of pollutants and is therefore certified by KIWA Nederland B.V. as a PE pipeline system with an aluminium barrier layer for the transport of drinking water. Damage-free installation of the pressure pipe in trenchless pipe installation, such as HDD, is achieved by the special, additive protective layer.

Source: Sustainability