Trenchless Australasia

September 2004

Already a subscriber? Login here to download this issue

Chairman’s Welcome

It is with a great deal of pleasure that I welcome past, current and new members of the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology, as well as all those with an interest in the rapidly growing field of Trenchless or “No-Dig” technology, to this first edition of Trenchless Australasia. We are very pleased to have reached agreement with Pipeline Publications Australia to exclusively produce the official magazine of the ASTT. This high quality publication will be produced on a quarterly basis and will provide a wonderful opportunity for the Trenchless industry in Australia and New Zealand to gain further prominence and wider recognition. It will also serve as a means of promoting the value of membership of ASTT.

Secretary’s Corner

It only seems like yesterday that I was asked to put together the first ASTT Newsletter. For those that remember or have retained the earlier issues, yes it was 1992 when it all began. By the way, in 1992 we were called the Australian Society for Trenchless Technology. For those of you that were not members way back then, the following were some of the articles in that first issue:

New magazine launched

The magazine you are reading, Trenchless Australasia, is being launched at the 2004 Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology Conference in Melbourne.

Launch of national interactive online underground safety service

The Association of Australian Dial Before You Dig Services (AADBYDS) has launched a new interactive web enquiry service in an attempt to further reduce the millions of dollars worth of damage caused annually to Australia’s networks of underground assets during construction projects.

E-education in Trenchless Technology

Jeff Pace, ASTT Secretary

The ASTT’s entry for the ISTT No Dig 2003 Award is an educational CD designed to introduce Trenchless Technology to Civil Engineering courses at Universities in Australia and New Zealand.

Trenchless Technology in action

Trenchless Technologies are often required to be employed in a variety of areas where a lack of disruption to the surrounding area is of vital importance. Some recent projects carried out around Melbourne by BTB Australia demonstrate how the impact on the surrounding environment is kept to a minimum.

Brisbane Domestic Airport 300 mm rising main replacement

Brisbane’s very busy domestic airport, under the management of the Brisbane Airport Corporation has a network of sewer mains around the airport facilities. One of these mains, a 300 mm PVC rising main, is located under the main roadway entrance to the airport passenger terminals.

A world-first in directional drilling brings relief to Wollongong

When the final 400 mm reaming of the 1.74 kilometre pilot hole connecting Stanwell Park to Otford was completed on May 24, it marked a world–first as the longest bore achieved for this size of rig anywhere in the world.

Trenchless Technology in Singapore

Trenchless Technology is playing an increasing role in Southeast Asia in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Underground infrastructure in these countries is ageing, requiring trenchless solutions for repair and replacement. New installations are also increasingly making use of Trenchless Technology as these countries seek to conserve rivers and roads when installing infrastructure beneath them.

Combined tendering benefits regional authorities

Fitzroy River Water and Mackay Water’s initiative to release a combined tender for sewer rehabilitation for 2002/2003 can be considered a significant success. After extending the contract for an additional 12 months, it has now been decided to call another combined tender, this time incorporating requirements from additional Councils.

SewerFix at work in the Blue Mountains

SewerFix is a major program undertaken by Sydney Water Corporation (SWC) to reduce the discharge of sewage into the environment. It is also part of Sydney Water’s strategic program to meet the objectives of the sewage treatment system licences issued to SWC by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in May 2000.

Pakenham-Narre Warren Sewerage Transfer System

The Melbourne 2030 plan identifies the Southeast region of Melbourne as one of the fastest growth areas in Australia. As the population of Pakenham’s designated urban growth area continues to rise, so to does the need to manage an increase in sewage flows.

Prime by name…

“Should we go for the Prime Drilling horizontal directional drilling rig again?”

Pipe, cable and water leak detection made easy

Due to the ever-increasing congestion of underground services, contractors are looking for more efficient methods of locating underground services or water leaks before they start work. Whether it is to avoid damaging an existing pipe or cable, which can be both dangerous and costly for your business, or identifying a water leak underground to minimise remedial repair excavation, the Metrotech range of products sold through Savcor Products Pty Ltd will be essential for your business.

Condition monitoring for management and operation of urban water systems

The focus of the CSIRO Urban Water Infrastructure group is on the development of tools for predicting asset lifetimes to allow for efficient management of existing urban water infrastructure. Assessment of the present condition of pipelines is central to the processes and models.