Coliban Water is carrying out sewer main renewal works in View Street, Bendigo, this week using innovative trenchless techniques.
Manager Infrastructure Corey Bourne said the renewal works were part of a preventative maintenance program to identify leaks and prevent blockages in the sewer network.
“View Street is a popular and historic part of Bendigo. As with all our works, we give careful consideration to how we can minimise disruption to customers,” said Mr Bourne.
“We are using a trenchless renewal technique which will enable us to keep the footpath open to pedestrians at all times and have no interruption to our customers’ sewer service.
“The technique involves relining the clay pipe with a spiral bound PVC that restores the structural integrity and reliability of the sewer main.
“The relining is carried out from the sewer access chamber but we have had to complete some excavation to replace a damaged section of pipe. In total we will renew around 50 metres of sewer main.
“Once the main has been relined, a remote controlled cutting machine is sent down the pipe to cut a hole at the exact point where properties’ connect to the main,” said Mr Bourne.
The sewer main was inspected by feeding through a CCTV camera. The footage showed that part of the main had been damaged by tree roots and needed to be renewed.
“The View Street sewer main is the original 225 millimetre diameter ceramic clay pipe. It was constructed in 1923 and was one of the first streets in Bendigo to be sewered.
“Around 100 kilometres of the original clay pipe is still in operation and functioning well in the Bendigo sewer network, almost 100 years after it was constructed. The relining of the main will increase the pipe’s life expectancy by at least another 50 years.
“The Bendigo sewer system was constructed by around 300 workers with eight horse and carts. Roads and footpaths were dug up and explosives used to remove hard rock.
“When the system was completed in 1924 it had an instant impact on people’s lives, dramatically reducing the number of deaths related to water-borne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid,” said Mr Bourne.
In 2017/18, Coliban Water cleaned 143 kilometres of sewer main and inspected around 44 kilometres, one of the largest preventative programs it has undertaken.
Further works are planned for 2018/19 for networks across the region. Affected customers will be notified prior to work commencing.
The contractor for the sewer main renewal works in View Street is Interflow.
For further information see our Water and Sewer Main Renewal page and for current works in our region see our Planned Works page.
Last updated on 08 Jul 2019