Through the efforts of Nu Flow’s research and development department, this progressive Queensland based company has rehabilitated commercial swimming pools from as far a field as the remote aboriginal community at Doomadgee on the Gulf of Carpentaria to pools in the NSW southern Highlands.

At the opposite end of the work spectrum, the use of the Nu Flow system to reline damaged pipe-work has saved downtime in juice processing plants, milk factories, breweries and other food establishments.

Rehabilitating the food chain

A typical case was the Golden Circle plant at Northgate, Brisbane. Pineapple juice is a strongly acidic product and plays havoc with the plant’s drainage system. The logistics of shutting down a processing line to rehabilitate the drainage system are extremely complicated - large and complex canning equipment has to be removed to provide access for concrete sawing machines and workers to create a massive mess within a sterile, hygienically sealed contaminant free building.

Reappraisal by Work Place Health and Safety to issue a contaminant free zone certificate follows, plus all the activity necessary to re-establish the concrete flooring and re-alignment of the processing equipment. The plant also has to curtail the delivery of fruit, so Golden Circle examined the alternatives and soon realised the Nu Flow pipe rehabilitation system was the best solution.

Not only did the Nu Flow process do away with the major problems described, the repair work was also able to be carried out on two Sundays, so as not to interrupt canning operations. Attempting to carry out the repair by the older methods would have taken a minimum of 18 working days, and considerably greater cost.

Saving the leisure dollar

Commercial and municipal swimming pools play a huge part in Australia’s outdoor lifestyle. The local pool now a vital part of our community infrastructure and continuous maintenance has always been essential.

Many pools were built during the 60s so they are now in some cases over 40 years old. Maintenance issues are starting to add up, and the prospect of demolition and/or replacement is in almost every case financially out of the question, which is why rehabilitation is often the best option.

Every pool has within its system a vast range of pipe size and materials, from cast-iron, galvanised pipe and FRC to modern PVC in sizes from 40 mm to 225 mm. Using patented epoxy CIPP systems, Nu Flow has been involved in this essential maintenance situation, solving some unique pipe problems. Saving the loss of water, and the chemicals therein is also environmentally astute, as well as financially beneficial.

In the instance of the Maryborough Shire’s pool in Queensland, it utilised 18 three inch (175 mm) galvanised steel pipes passing through 600 mm concrete surround walls to return pool water to the filtration system via a 150 mm CI ring main. The cast-iron ring main was found to be in sound condition but the galvanised steel pipes suffered from horrific corrosion. Not only was there no way of replacing the pipes through the pool wall, but the gibault joint between the cast-iron and G.I. was impossible to remove or replace. Epoxy CIPP presented a low impact solution to an otherwise overwhelming problem.

The centre feed pipe supplies filtered water back to the pool via a series of holes up the centre line of the pool. Passing through construction joints in the base of the pool this pipe was prone to fracture. Relining this pipe with a more flexible epoxy CIPP liner solved the problem of leakage into the foundation area of the pool. This also minimised disruption to the pool shell.

Nu Flow’s water resistant resin composites allows the rehabilitation of a 50 mm pipe underwater.

The Nu Flow flexible bladder system with water resistant, specially formulated resins allowed technicians to perform some remarkable repairs in extremely difficult situations. These repairs not only saved thousands of litres of irreplaceable water, but also ensured that the ongoing availability of the municipal swimming pool was guaranteed as a part of the local lifestyle.