CCTV is an invaluable tool in the regular inspection and assessment of buried assets such as drains and sewers, providing explanations to a range of thorny questions — from what is blocking the drain and causing it to overflow so frequently? to where is all my water disappearing to?
Barry Bros can provide the equipment, expertise and services to answer your questions and put your mind at ease.
The NSW branch of Barry Bros recently completed an extensive series of surveys for RAAF Richmond, who were trying to gain a complete picture of their buried assets. Their starting estimates of 20 km of piping and 700 pits proved slightly shy of the mark demonstrated in the completed survey, with 32 km and 1,080 pits found.
With an extensive range of camera equipment, Barry Bros can inspect underground piped systems from 50 mm NB upwards. While it may be physically possible to put a small, skinny bloke into a drain line as small as 600 mm NB, the OH&S aspects of such work under confined space entry conditions on these and even larger conduits generally make doing so prohibitive.
The current range of cameras and equipment Barry Bros employ can record distances accurately to within 1 mm and their laser-profiling systems can provide information on pipe shape and profile to within 1 per cent accuracy. Using a digitalised laser ring connecting to 180 radial points and operating at a frequency of 25 to 30 times per second, software links the imagery to a video file, providing the asset owner with all the information needed to identify whether the pipe has been installed correctly and to specification, or to accurately determine levels of corrosion, damage or debris build-up in older assets. It also provides the owner with the opportunity to calculate hydraulic losses along the length of the conduit, an important factor in considering pumping requirements and costs.
With the current levels of drought being faced around the country, and restrictions on irrigation in force, the ground below our feet is drying and shrinking — a very real hazard to our precious buried assets, particularly the older, rigid jointed pipe systems. Prevention is better than cure, so the next time you hear, see or read of CCTV, think of your friend below ground, ensuring that your assets are in optimum condition so that they continue to function effectively and efficiently and, importantly, not lose any more of our precious water resources.
