S&Z Australia has successfully installed over 2 kilometres of 280 mm PE water main in extremely hard rock to ensure an adequate water supply to the town the of Lethbridge in Victoria.
Works were required to upgrade the drinking water supply network for the Lethbridge community and surrounding areas. This project increased system capacity, ensuring high quality, secure and affordable water services.
The new water pipeline was constructed along the Midland Highway, between Medina Road and Quarry Road.
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) was the preferred method of installation to minimise the impact to the environment and minimal disruption to the local community.
The pipeline was installed in the road reserve that was occupied by protected trees and fauna.
S&Z Australia were able to utilise two of their Grundodrill 18ASCs Rock Drills to deliver the project well before the required time frame.
Working on a busy country highway presented challenges with construction vehicle movements combined with residential and rural commuters, all needing to be managed safely and with minimum impact to the community.
The closest waste disposal facility was a considerable distance away from the worksite and given that two drills were working concurrently additional vacuum trucks were required to allow the drills to operate without any delays.
The project required careful planning to coordinate waste disposal and keep water up to the HDD units.
Jim Pound, General Manager at S&Z Australia, said: “it was great to be able to run two drills and smash out the project, but it did need additional resources and equipment to support the volumes of fluids we were dealing with it.”
“We knew we would be drilling in rock but the bluestone we encountered was well above what we were expecting. Utilising the two HDD units allowed us to make up any time we lost due to the hardness of the rock.”
S&Z Australia deliver infrastructure projects all over Victoria and Southern New South Wales and are experienced working in rural and country locations as well inner city and suburban locations.
HDD installation is often required due to environmental protection concerns.
S&Z Australia pride themselves on their methods and procedures that minimize any impact to the environment while delivering the required projects safely and economically.
For more information visit the S&Z website.
This article appeared in the August edition of Trenchless Australasia