Various forms of trenchless pipe repair have been available in the residential market for about 10 to 15 years, despite the fact that 78% of people surveyed in one recent Angie’s List poll said they had never heard of this “no dig” technology. It might be time to add the city of Foxboro, Mass to the ‘late-to-the-party’ list. Foxboro has struggled with complaints of dirty drinking water for a couple of years, but they seem to have found a solution to their problem.
According to the local news site TheSunChronicle.com, the city’s water department is working on installing cured-in-place pipe, or CIPP liners for their damaged sewer line repair.
“We’re just happy and excited,” said Water and Sewer Department Superintendent Bob Worthley. “We’re just looking at it as a very useful tool.”
The city started a pilot CIPP installation program earlier this year to test out CIPP technology on a 1,200-foot stretch of asbestos cement pipe. The results spoke for themselves to city officials.
“It’s almost like putting a new PVC pipe in the ground,” said Town Engineer Chris Gallagher. “It’s definitely an interesting process. We can do more with the same amount of money. It was just a perfect application for us to use this product.”
Gallagher estimated that the CIPP installation saved the city about 30% compared to replacing the piping altogether. In some cases trenchless technology can be a little more expensive initially (30 to 50%), but will save you thousands of dollars in restorative work in the long-run.
They plan on using CIPP installation on another stretch of pipe, known as the “Iron Triangle,” where black water complaints have been noted. The non-invasive nature also makes it a perfect option for environmentally sensitive areas, as Worthley also pointed out.
The only question local residents might have now is, ‘what took them so long?’