UKSTT Renovation Award

The Waterflow Group Plc has received a prestigious award from the United Kingdom Society for Trenchless Technology (UKSTT) for the best renovation project over £250,000. Presented at UKSTT’s Annual Awards Dinner in Birmingham on 25 April 2008, the Award recognises the best in technological, commercial and environmental achievement in the field of trenchless technology.

Waterflow’s winning project was the Southend Sewer Renovation contract, carried out for Barhale Construction on behalf of Anglian Water. Believed to be the largest sewer lining contract undertaken in the UK using an ultra-violet (UV) cure lining system, the project involved surveying and lining 5.1 km of sewers ranging in size from 225 to 600 mm diameter. The use of UV-cure lining methods resulted in environmental benefits which have been independently verified.

Most of the work was in residential areas close to houses, and a key aim was to minimise disruption and environmental impact. In particular, the objectives were to reduce the overall duration of the work and the effect on vehicles, pedestrians and householders, and to to avoid any potential nuisance from chemical fumes which can be an issue with some lining systems.

Environmental Benefits

Waterflow’s UV-cure lining system minimises cure time and the emission of solvent fumes from the resin. It also removes the need for the scaffold towers needed for conventional cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining systems, which would have created obstructions and safety issues in busy locations, and does not require the liner to be filled with water for insertion and curing.

To provide a realistic assessment of the benefits of UV-cure CIPP relative to conventional hot water curing methods, Waterflow commissioned an independent Environmental Comparison Report which demonstrated that UV-cure came out ahead of conventional lining systems in almost every category, especially energy consumption, transport impact, nuisance issues and the risk of pollution. The report has been checked by WRc who consider it to be an accurate reflection of the relative impact of the UV-cure and hot water cure CIPP technologies.

Reaction

After winning the UKSTT Renovation Award, Waterflow Director Roger Kern commented, “We are delighted to have received this recognition – it reflects a great deal of effort and commitment in bringing the benefits of new technology to the UK market. The credit must go to our staff who show such dedication, and also to our partners in this contract who played a vital part in the very successful outcome.”

Following the completion of the Southend contract in March 2008, Waterflow are now using the UV-cure lining technique in projects throughout the UK.