Renewal of the Water Pipeline Under the River Dee Estuary – Water Supply for Over Three Million People Secured

Project Planning

With the renewal of a two-kilometer-long water pipeline for Welsh Water, which had to be installed trenchlessly under the River Dee estuary and routed through heavily contaminated soil, egeplast UK completed a demanding project in the British water industry. egeplast Barrier Pipe SLA®, a permeation-resistant pipe system for the protection of drinking water in contaminated soils, was used. Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) supplies 800 million liters of high-quality drinking water to over three million customers in more than 1.4 million households and businesses throughout Wales. To improve the performance of the water supply for 1,600 properties and businesses in Deeside and to make the water network future-proofed for further developments, the company had to replace its existing water pipelines with two new pipelines.

Installation of the Twin Pipelines

The installation of the pipes was central to the success of the project, as the new twin pipelines run in a straight line under the estuary of the River Dee on the English-Welsh border and accordingly had to be installed trenchlessly using HDD drilling. To overcome the installation challenges and meet the special requirements for the pipe, egeplast UK supplied just over two kilometers of egeplast Barrier Pipe SLA® 355 mm SDR 9. This not only enabled the operating pressure of up to 16 bar with sufficient safety, but also ensured the protection of the drinking water that must be routed through contaminated soil. The pipes were supplied in 12-meter lengths and welded on site under the guidance and with the support of the British team. egeplast UK supplied heat shrink sleeves for the 355 mm butt fusion joints as well as aluminum tape to ensure the barrier properties of the system. To accelerate the installation process and ensure that the welded joints could be successfully executed, the pipes were supplied with factory-prepared pipe ends.

Conclusion

Steven Jones, Managing Director of egeplast UK, is satisfied: “Thanks to good planning, coordination, and collaboration between all parties involved, we were able to complete this complex project within a tight schedule without serious complications. Thanks for this go to the colleagues from UK as well as the team in Greven.”