Thames Water's high-powered jet to help clear up sewers
Jul 05, 2017
A high-powered concrete-busting kit has been brought in by Thames Water to tackle the menace of cowboy builders pouring concrete into sewers.
The new 12,000 PSI jet tanker is powerful enough to blast through concrete and other materials that clog up the sewer network and potentially cause blockages and in turn, bursts, leaks and flooding.
Instances of concrete being poured into the network are increasing and causing problems for Thames Water and its customers, but it’s hoped the new equipment will help prevent any disruption and allow the sewers to run normally.
In some cases, builders accidently pour concrete and other materials down drains and sewers, but in others it appears to be a deliberate act to avoid the need to dispose of it legitimately.
Alex Saunders, area manager for Thames Water, said: “We realised we needed a new weapon in our armoury to tackle extreme blockages, and this jet does that.
“By their very nature, blockages can be devastating for whole communities. One moment a large sewer can be flowing freely, the next it can be completely blocked, or flooding, inconveniencing thousands of wastewater customers.
“We’re always looking for new ways to fight the problem and this jet will stop any serious problems before they arise.”
The JHL high-pressure unit, was first used by teams in March, and will also help the team clear up fatbergs – the build-up of fats, oils, greases and other non-flushable items which congeal into one solid mass.
Every year, Thames Water tackles 85,000 blockages throughout its sewer network, and has launched an awareness-raising campaign of ‘Bin it – don’t block it’ to encourage people not to flush non-flushable items down the toilet.
In February this year, the company started a major civil engineering project to remove a 10-metre section of main sewer under Hanover Park, Peckham, South London, which was found to be completed filled with concrete.
The COMBI jet vac tanker has three jetting reels, including a high pressure jetting unit with a 130 metre hose that can jet at up to 11,637 pounds per square inch.
It is operated by wastewater engineers Chris Costin and Dan Merry.
Mr Costin said: “This is a very effective piece of kit. We can now cut large chunks of concrete and other material from inside pipes, and remove pretty much all traces of the blockage to reduce the risk of snagging and further blockages.
“If the sewer is blocked along its length, there may be no option but to excavate and replace it. But for a lot of our most serious blockage problems, we’ve now stepped up several levels in our capability to deal with them.”
More News and Articles
Aug 28, 2024
News
ITpipes Secures $20M to Transform Water Infrastructure Management
ITpipes announced it has secured $20 million in equity financing from Trilogy Search Partners and Miramar Equity Partners.
Known for its trusted and user-friendly platform, ITpipes …
Aug 26, 2024
News
Professor Dr.-Ing. Dietrich Stein
With deep sadness we announce the loss of our founder and partner Prof Dr Dietrich Stein at the age of 85.
Engineers around the globe are thankful for his dedication to the inventions in the fields of sewers, …
Aug 26, 2024
News
PPI Releases New Installation Guide for PE4710 Pipe
PPI’s MAB-11-2024 Covers HDPE Water Pipelines Up to 60-in. Diameter and 10,000-ft Long Pulls
Developed by the Municipal Advisory Board (MAB) – and published with the help of the members of the …
Aug 23, 2024
News
Faster wide-scale leak detection now within reach
Mass deployment of connected leak loggers is being made possible by the latest technology, writes Tony Gwynne, global leakage solutions director, Ovarro
Water companies in England and Wales are …
Aug 21, 2024
News
Kraken awakens customer service potential in water
The innovative customer service platform Kraken has made a successful transfer from energy to water. Ahead of their presentation at UKWIR’s annual conference, Portsmouth Water chief executive …
Aug 19, 2024
News
Predicting the toxicity of chemicals with AI
Researchers at Eawag and the Swiss Data Science Center have trained AI algorithms with a comprehensive ecotoxicological dataset. Now their machine learning models can predict how toxic chemicals are …
Aug 16, 2024
News
Goodbye water loss: Trenchless pipe renewal in Brazil
Pipe renewal in Brazil
How do you stop water loss through leaks in old pipe systems without major environmental impacts and restrictions? The answer: with trenchless technology, or more precisely …
Aug 14, 2024
Article
Impact of high-temperature heat storage on groundwater
In a recently launched project, the aquatic research institute Eawag is investigating how the use of borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) affects the surrounding soil, the groundwater …
Aug 12, 2024
News
Watercare completes East Coast Bays sewer link
Watercare has successfully finished the final connection on the East Coast Bays link sewer at Windsor Park in New Zealand.
Much of the East Coast Bays sewer link was installed using horizontal directional …
Aug 09, 2024
Article
Innovative water solutions for sustainable cities
Cities need to become more sustainable and use their water resources more efficiently. Managing water in local small-scale cycles is one possible solution. A new white paper by Eawag, the University …
Aug 07, 2024
Article
How digital technologies contribute to universal drinking water
Digital water technologies have an important role in ensuring universal access to safe drinking water by 2030, that is according to a new report from the World Health Organisation. …
Aug 05, 2024
News
Knowledge transfer on sustainable water infrastructure in India
India’s fast-growing cities need an efficient infrastructure for water supply and wastewater disposal. A research cooperation, is therefore supporting the development of a sustainable …
Contact
Thames Water Utilities Limited
Clearwater Court, Vastern Road
RG1 8DB Reading
United Kingdom