Traffic had to be diverted from Punt Road in Melbourne’s east last week after a pipe burst near the Commercial road intersection during morning peak hour traffic. South East Water was quick to respond to the emergency with full water services restored to the affected area in three and a half hours. Repairs did not affect afternoon peak hour traffic. In order to repair the 135-year-old pipe South East Water removed the three metre section of the main that was damaged and replaced it with UPVC pipe. South East Water also fully repaired the 5 x 3 metre damage to road surface. South East Water Utilities Services General Manager Kevin Hutchings said “Our objective is to respond to leaks and bursts as quickly as possible to ensure minimal water loss, interruption to supply and, as this incident occurred on a major Melbourne road way, limited interruption to traffic.” Though the extensive road damage caused by the pipe burst rendered it unnecessary to use Trenchless Technology for repair work, South East Water employs a number of trenchless techniques for their ongoing pipe rehabilitation asset management program. Such techniques include:
- QuickLock pipe repair from the inside by placing a metal sleeve across the damaged area.
- Compact Pipe rehabilitation by use of structural Polyethylene liner for longer distance and sizes of up to 500mm.
- InnaTube relining of service pipes from water main to the resident’s property.
“At South East Water we utilise Trenchless Technology to extend the service life of our assets, with the aim of avoiding incidents such as last week’s burst,” said Mr Hutchings. “South East Water is committed to proactive water main renewal programs to help ensure that our assets are performing.” South East Water met annual renewal targets in the 2008-09 financial year, replacing 20.8 kilometres of sewer main and 31.6 kilometres of water main in the 2008-09 financial year.