WATER PIPELINES
CRC positions Australia as water infrastructure leader in lining technologies The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) recently led an international project investigating innovation in smart linings for pipes and infrastructure. The $20 million project, including $3 million in funding through the Australian Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), bought together 35 partners from Australia and overseas and strategically positions Australia as a global leader in smart water infrastructure design, engineering, testing and management.
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SAA is the peak industry body representing the urban water industry. The association’s members provide water and sewerage services to over 24 million customers in Australia and New Zealand, and many of Australia’s largest industrial and commercial enterprises. The Smart Linings for Pipe and Infrastructure Project researched the effectiveness of pipe liners, focusing on four product categories: cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) and polymeric spray liners for water mains, and calcium aluminate cement (CAC) mortars and alkalai activated binders –including geopolymer cement mortars – for wastewater assets. The project received funding from the Federal Government’s CRC Program. The CRC Program supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community.
Australia’s ageing pipeline infrastructure The value of buried pipe infrastructure in Australia is in the order of $160 billion. As the assets of many water utilities approach the end of their useful life, the effective replacement of aging infrastructure presents a challenge for the urban water industry. The primary approach to addressing aged pipe infrastructure is removal and replacement of the pipe, a relatively expensive process. In addition, more than 20 per cent of these pipes are made of asbestos cement (AC), presenting additional health and safety risks during removal, and disposal. Increasing labour and material costs, coupled with overall community affordability pressures emphasised the need for water utilities to do more with less and
A CIPP burst test, with no host pipe.
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The Australian Pipeliner | May 2022
to innovate cost effective solutions. Lining technology has the potential to substantially increase asset service life and delay the need for replacement. Furthermore, lining systems reduce community impact, taking less time to install and creating less disturbance than conventional trenching solutions. Additional benefits to the community include reducing impacts to other authorities’ assets and reduction in waste materials.
Delivering standards and guidelines While the Australian water industry has used both CIPP and spiral-wound lining systems for the rehabilitation of sewer pipelines since the 1980s, the uptake of new products has slowed. One barrier to the acceptance of new products was the
