Electro Scan (UK) Ltd recently announced the completion of 37 km (121,000 ft) of sewer main inspection project for Irish Water, working in partnership McAllister Group. Commencing work in May 2022, the project inspected sewers in Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, and Mayo counties in the Republic of Ireland.
Electro Scan deployed a suite of mobile solutions to complete this project, including its ES-600 van system to enable long distance on-road surveys and its ES-400 Push Reel solution used for hard-to-reach areas that other technologies cannot typically reach.
The project was awarded to Electro Scan (UK) Ltd after completing a project for McAllister Group in Oranmore for Irish Water. “McAllister was delighted to continue a great working relationship with Electro Scan to deliver this package of work.” stated Ross Orderely, Project Manager, McAllister Group.
“McAllister and Electro Scan crews have been working together to tackle any issues on site which may arise.” continued Orderely. “With Electro Scan’s state of the art equipment and McAllister’s local knowledge, the project went very well. We look forward to working together on future projects.”
Like the UK, the EU has experienced massive flooding due to excessive wet weather events. Traditionally relying on Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, industry veterans have long acknowledged the limitation of using CCTV equipment to properly locate sources of infiltration or certify pipeline repairs and rehabilitation as leak-free.
Since superficial cracks cannot be differentiated from cracks that go completely through a pipe wall, CCTV cameras are also not able to properly evaluate joints for water tightness, requiring newer innovative technologies to replace visualbased techniques.
Once a promising technique to standardise CCTV observation codes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) still cannot properly assess the performance of pipelines as only the interior of the pipe is reviewed, representing less than 20% of the total pipe. In contrast, Electro Scan’s machine-intelligent technology automatically scans 360o of full-length pipes to pinpoint all leakage points, in addition to estimating each leak’s severity stated in litres per second or gallons per minute.
Also, by geometrically profiling pipe wall defects, proper asset plans can be created to rank and prioritise critical assets, including the type of repair needed.
The team at the start of the project comprised of Brad Weston (MD UK), Adam Clarke (Head of Water Projects), Chris Chesworth (Senior Technician) and Chris Fisher (Technician) had various meetings and successfully pass performance and safety audits. Once certified, Chris Chesworth and Chris Fisher completed the remainder of the project.
Traveling the whole of Ireland during this project, Electro Scan completed the project on time and on budget, working with McAllister Group.
Jersey
Electro Scan (UK) Ltd has also been awarded a 12 km inspection project for the Government of Jersey, Channel Islands, after a competitive tender to evaluate Clay, Concrete, and Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) for leaks not found or recorded by legacy Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras or Acoustic sensors.
A key aspect of the project will be the evaluation of a pressurised fire suppression network supporting the island’s above-ground fuel depot. The project in Jersey is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will be overseen by the Department of Infrastructure, Housing & Environment, Operations & Transport.
“Everyone knows that utilities cannot manage what they do not ‘see’ and cannot manage what they do not ‘hear’.” stated Brad Weston, Managing Director, Electro Scan (UK) Ltd. “So, Electro Scan is delighted to be returning to the Channel Islands with its advanced technology.”
Jersey’s population is nearly 110,000 spread across 118.2 km2 of land, or about 0.7 times the size of Washington, D.C. in the USA.
Not part of the United Kingdom (UK) or European Union (EU), Jersey is a separate possession of the Crown, known as the British Isles.
While high-resolution CCTV cameras were traditionally used to inspect sewage and stormwater pipes for defects, their inability to determine if cracks go through pipe walls has
limited its ability to tell whether cracks or joints leak. A key contributor to tidal infiltration and wet weather infiltration.
CCTV’s failure to certify repairs and CIPP lined pipes as watertight is another major concern for water companies. Finally, if service connections have leaks, for example where homes connect to the local sewer, water companies that use CCTV cameras may inadvertently give ratepayers a ‘clean bill of health’ for their sewers. Only to later find that rainwater was able to enter the sewers via undetected leaks, overloading the network, causing sewer back ups, overflows, and residential flooding.
Since AI programs utilise the same frame-by-frame video files produced by the most advanced CCTV cameras, once promising AI programs have fizzled in popularity due to their lack of actionable and value-added data.
In contrast, Electro Scan’s machine-intelligent, non-acoustic, non-visual technology is unaffected by water levels inside of pipes, grease, tides, groundwater conditions, noise, silt, or visual impediments. Instead, automatically geocoding and measuring all pathways where water can flow in or out of a pipe.
As a result, Electro Scan’s technology provides unambiguous and unbiased leak detection and is able to certify that repairs do not leak. Critical for managing pressurised and gravity pipelines.
Jersey is the largest and southernmost of the UK’s Channel Islands, with elevations ranging from sea level to 143 m (469 ft) above sea level. On 10 October 2008, Jersey recorded its highest tide with a height of 12.3 m (40.45 ft), with Super Tides sometimes lasting up to five consecutive days at a time and routinely reaching 11 m (36 ft).
By comparison the Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast of North America, between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and the US state of Maine, is known for having the highest tidal range in the world reaching 14.5 m (47.5 ft).
Uxbridge, UK-based Drain-IT will provide a jetting van to support Electro Scan’s work while in Jersey.