The City of Kitchener, Ontario discovered a crippling leak in their main pipeline. When wastewater threatened to contaminate the Grand River, Sandale was called.
The Location
The City of Kitchener is part of the Region of Waterloo and is situated in Southwestern Ontario. The wastewater treatment plants of the Region of Water daily purify 170 million litres of wastewater. After the wastewater is processed, the treated water is discharged into the Grand River, the largest and most important river entirely in Ontario.
Main Pipeline Leakage
Wastewater collected within the city through gravity pipes and force mains is delivered to the wastewater treatment plants by one of the 24 pumping stations.
Bryan Dubrick was the Operations Supervisor, ORO, WWC4 Storm and Sanitary Maintenance & Construction for the City of Kitchener and recalls the incident, “In the early morning, we discovered a leak in the main pipeline. A lot of wastewater had already leaked out and threatened to end up in the nearby Grand River. That would have been a disaster. Quick action was required!”
Emergency Measure
At the location of the leakage, the 14” HDPE pipe was dug up. A leaking flange gasket proved to be the cause of the problem.
Bryan Dubrick continues, “Because we were dealing with an HDPE pipe and the damaged pipe was to be replaced by HDPE as well, fusion would normally be the way to make the connection. However, with all of the wastewater in the trench and the speed that was required to repair the leakage, electro- or butt-fusion was not an option. It would take too much time to get a dry working trench. The obvious solution in this situation was the MULTI/JOINT 3000® Plus coupling.”
Unique Sealing System
The MULTI/JOINT® 3000 Plus system comprises a wide range of fittings, flange adaptors, reduction pieces, bends, duck feet bends and end caps of ductile iron in the ranges 2–24".
Thanks to the wide-range sealing system, all fittings can be restrained as long as the nominal diameters are the same. All Sandale needs to know is the outside diameter of the pipe, the medium and the working pressure.
Permanent Solution
The decision was quickly made. VAC trucks pumped the wastewater out of the trench. The leaking flange was cut out and a new piece of 14” HDPE pipe was lowered into the trench.
The connection was made with two 14” MULTI/JOINT® 3000 Plus wide-range restraint couplings. The leakage was repaired and the force main was placed back into service.
Thanks to the quick action, pollution of the Grand River was prevented. Moreover, it was resolved so quickly that no one noticed anything!
Emergency HDPE Repair Service
Read about the MULTI/JOINT 3000® Plus system to understand why more municipalities and businesses are trusting this innovative product available through Sandale.
For efficient emergency service for all of your HDPE needs, trust the experts at Sandale. Reach out to us today, 24/7.