THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
MAIN FEATURE
Adler and Allan
to be supporting this project which could be the first step in delivering the world’s first blockage clearing pipebots.”
Adler and Allan certainly feel the sewer network could be better monitored and protected. Through its Detectronic group of companies, it delivers a range of flow and level monitors and associated services to facilitate real time management of sewerage systems by monitoring wastewater flows and effluent levels at CSOs and other critical points in the network. Combining their online portals with their flow and level monitors create a highly effective sewer network monitoring system.
Other Adler and Allan group companies include Jet Aire, Oneline and PSS, which help nationwide commercial drainage infrastructure owners and domestic customers keep their drains flowing, and reduce their risk of internal and external flooding, through expert survey and diagnostics, cleaning and maintenance, and innovative remediation and excavation.
Dean Blackburn again: “Water companies are putting a significant level of focus and investment into improving the health of our sewers as demonstrated by both their AMP8 business plans and through some of the investments made in AMP7. Sewer level monitoring is an
FOLLOW US
example of a big step forward taken by a number of water companies who have identified the value of increased network intelligence, similar to the approach taken in tackling leakage on the water network. There is a lot more work to do and this is acknowledged by the water companies.”
He confirmed that extreme weather events were having an impact on the network: “Extreme weather will undoubtedly overwhelm an already restricted network - if the network has blockages and ageing infrastructure this will reduce capacity which can quickly lead to overwhelm in extreme weather.”
Highlighting this issue, he said that their companies were also continuously clearing blocked drains from residential, commercial and private drainage systems, and they estimated that clearing blockages and removing materials from drainage systems equates to around 50 per cent of their work.
In checking what the sewer pipe material is before trying to clear any blockages, Dean said that their expert CCTV operatives camera surveyed drains to identify issues including blockages, infiltration, tree root ingress, misconnections, or structural defects, code defects, and grade the risks 1-5 from joint displacement to complete
collapse in a WRC industry standard WINCAN report. “We do sometimes experience weak clay pipes on land drains which are susceptible to collapse or damage when carrying out high pressure jetting. We also occasionally encounter asbestos pipe which we have to be more cautious dealing with.”
As to whether blockages were getting worse, Jet Aire, based in the North of the country, said blockages were reducing due to public awareness of the impact of non-flushable items and they were noticing a steady decline in the number of reactive blockages. More noticeable was that far less are now due to wet wipes as a root cause. However, they say there is a long way to go. In contrast, PSS, based in the South, said blockages were getting worse due to pipe degradation and more structural defects. They also observed that there seems to be more fat within the sewer systems.
Mark Cox, UK Sales Director at Rioned, a global manufacturer of sewer cleaning equipment, works closely with drainage and utility contractors across the UK, providing him with firsthand insights into the condition of the sewer network.
“What’s clear is the UK’s ageing sewer system is being tested by more frequent and intense weather events, leading to increased blockages and flooding,” he
August 2024 | 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
