Municipal pipes are not getting any younger. The EPA estimates that 30 percent of water main pipes are 40 to 80 years old, with 10 percent more than 80 years old. Then there are water leaks, with an estimated 23 billion gallons of potable water lost yearly in California’s Bay Area. The repair cost is expected to be well over two trillion dollars. That’s where pipe lining and epoxy water pipe repair can help.
Nonetheless, there is a cost-effective way to move forward. It’s epoxy water pipe repair using pipe lining and coating. Find out more in this article covering five reasons to choose Spray In Place Solutions (SIPS), supported by four success stories from New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois.
Five Reasons to Choose Spray In Place Solutions for Your Pipe Lining Project
Spray In Place’s high-build epoxy pipe coating offers several advantages over digging and replacing potable water and sewer lines. All these reasons apply to pipe restoration—water main lining and potable water pipe lining.
- Minimal Digging. There’s no need to dig up the entire pipe. Often, only a 6×6 foot access pit is needed every 650 feet. In some cases, access through existing manholes is the only requirement. It requires only 5% of the trenching and excavating time needed for pipe replacement.
- Limited Disruption. Spray In Place’s epoxy pipe coating takes roughly 15% of the time required to dig up and replace pipes. It repairs potable water and sewer main pipe leaks quickly.
- Safe and Durable. Epoxy water pipe repair spray systems provide a protective barrier between the pipe and sewer wastewater or potable water. This prevents any leaks from the pipes and environmental hazards. The life expectancy is roughly 75 years.
- Eases Maintenance. Municipal pipes can flow more freely, limiting pipeline buildup due to their smooth surface. They also help prevent internal pipeline corrosion.
- Cost-Effective. Repiping is 50% to 75% more expensive than Spray In Place’s epoxy coating for pipe restoration – water main lining. The cost of digging, removing, and replacing digging locations is substantially reduced.
All these reasons make SIPS your go-to pipe rehabilitation company for epoxy water pipe repair, potable water pipe lining, and pipe restoration – water main lining. But don’t take our word for it. Check out some of our success stories.
Four Spray In Place Solutions Pipe Lining Success Stories
We’ve captured four Spray In Place Solutions success stories highlighting the key reasons you should consider high-build epoxy coatings for your pipe lining projects. The case studies cover water main lining in Chicago, municipal pipe restoration in Milton, Massachusetts, pipe rehabilitation in a major New York City airport, and epoxy for water leaks in the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Water Main Lining – Chicago, Illinois Area
SIPS recently rehabilitated and restored to service an 8-inch ductile iron water main in the Chicago area. This line had an extensive history of significant water leaks and pipe breaks. Due to these accumulating problems, it had been out of service for eight to ten months.
Using our Robotic Spray Application System’s CCTV camera process, we located the breaks and developed an approach to cleaning and repairing them. We used separate patches at the breakpoints, inserting them ‘in-situ’ into the pipe from 6×6 access points spaced approximately every 600 feet along the line.
We applied 3mm of NSF 61-approved, zero VOC, single-coat 100% solids epoxy along the entire length with our Spray Application System. This ensured one monolithic coating, bonding, and adhering to the host pipe and patches. This sealing made sure that no water could get behind the patches. Once completed, the like-new pipe has an engineered life of over 75 years.
Municipal Pipe Restoration – Milton, Massachusetts
We recently rehabilitated a more than 100-year-old 10-inch ductile iron water main in Milton, Massachusetts. This line had severe tuberculation and a history of significant leaks and breaks. Since the 1880s, they have installed over 730,000 feet of water main pipes. Over that time, system breaks have plagued the underground system, growing more frequent over time.
Heavy erosion covered both the exterior and interior of these water mains. As a result, the municipality needed a quick and effective solution that offered minimal disruption. The Spray-in-Place pipe lining method fits their requirements perfectly.
A remotely operated vehicle analysis using a remote-controlled camera system to travel through the mains allowed a close look at the damaged pipelines. Based on that review, a plan was established for pipe restoration—water main lining. The epoxy system’s single-coat application and fast cure time minimized water service disruption and avoided disruptive traffic issues. Plus, it was very cost-effective compared to traditional pipe replacement, saving the municipality over 50%.
Pipe Rehabilitation – New York City Major Airport
For this pipe rehabilitation project, we repaired several diameters of co-generation pipes, ranging from 10” to 36” and up to 500 feet in length. These pipes run under runways and terminals at a major New York airport. This line required an innovative approach as the pipes have very limited accessibility and restricted work hours, in addition to their significant corrosion issues.
The pipes distribute superheated 250°F water. When tides rise, the exterior of the pipes gets wet, creating steam vapors. After CCTV inspection and planning, our Robotic Spray Application system applied 3mm of high-temperature-tolerant, zero VOC, single-coat 100% solids epoxy along the entire length. This ensures one monolithic coating bonding and adhering to the host pipe. This also significantly increased system insulation values, allowing chiller output temperatures to be raised, boiler temperatures to be lowered, and subsequently reduced energy consumption. That led to significant efficiencies and savings for this pipe rehabilitation project.
Epoxy for Water Leaks – New York City MTA
We recently rehabilitated a 100-year-old NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority drainage system using our epoxy water pipe repair system. This drain pipe system has vertical leaders that feed into concrete slabs that are several feet thick. The matrix of the drainage pipes was highly complex, with multiple bends and sweeps, and went underneath railroad tracks. These pipes enter larger drainage pipes owned by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.
A CCTV camera process identified severe corrosion, ring cracks, and pieces of pipe sections obstructing the water flow. The obstructions were removed, and sectional cure-in-place repairs were made to several locations. After the repairs, a 3mm NSF 61-approved, zero VOC, single-coat 100% solids epoxy was applied along the entire length. This ensured one monolithic coating, bonding, and adhering to the host pipe and bladder patches, sealing the whole repair. Once completed, the like-new pipe has an engineered life of over 75 years.
What Is the Spray In Place Solutions (SIPS) Process?
There are lots of pipe rehabilitation companies. The key to selecting the right one is to examine the process they use closely. It must follow detailed procedures to ensure the lining corrects the problem and lasts for the estimated 75-year lifespan. Here’s the process we use.
- Pipe Mapping. We map the pipe to verify project details. A robotic closed-circuit television camera examines the entire length of the pipe and identifies all issues.
- Drag Scraping. A drag scraper, pulled in both directions, removes rust and debris. That also helps return the pipe to its original diameter.
- High-Pressure Water Jetting. Water jetting is then used to remove any remaining scaling, dirt, and film.
- Surface Prep Verification. At this point, our robotic closed-circuit camera is used to verify that the pipe has been cleaned sufficiently for the epoxy application.
- Spin Casting Epoxy Application. A state-of-the-art robotic spin cast system applies the epoxy to the pipe. During the application, the epoxy mix ratio, temperature, and speed of the spray head are continuously monitored to ensure the correct thickness is obtained.
- Curing and Final Inspection. The pipe is fully submersible after a brief two- to three-hour cure time. Then, we conduct a full inspection using the robotic closed-circuit television to verify full coverage.
When choosing among pipe rehabilitation companies, ensuring they use the best epoxy coatings and follow all health standards is essential. Spray In Place Solutions uses an epoxy that is certified compliant with the newly updated health effects criteria of NSF/ANSI/CAN 600. This ensures that rigorous testing has determined that it is safe for drinking water. Plus, no wildlife will be harmed by our materials or processes.
Ready to Get Started with Trenchless Pipe Lining to Fix Your Pipe Problems?
Are you ready to discuss how Spray In Place Solutions’ innovative process can help you enjoy the advantages of trenchless technology? Then, please fill out our Pipe Lining Questionnaire today to get a quote for your project.