The Regional District of Nanaimo has awarded a $290,000 contract for sewage pipe inspection in Nanaimo.
Pure Technologies Ltd. will undertake an examination of a 43-year-old forcemain at Departure Bay, which carries more than 100 million litres of raw sewage a day to the Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre.
Sections of the forcemain pipe have been inspected recently and have shown deterioration, according to the regional district. Information is needed to identify areas at risk of failing and to plan for repairs and replacement.
Unlike other sewer lines, the forcemain pipe is sealed and only has one access point, making it difficult to get equipment in and out, and the flow can’t be stopped for any extended period of time, said Sean De Pol, regional district manager of wastewater services. SmartBall Technology will be utilized, which will see a device with sensors moving along with the flow, recording information.
“We can shut it down for a while and it will fill up our wet well, but that only buys us a few hours before we need to turn back on the pumps,” said De Pol.
“So that specialized equipment needs to enter the system very quickly and then we need to seal the system back up again and have it functioning while this equipment does an inspection of the thickness and integrity of the forcemain walls.”
De Pol said the material of the forcemain is the same as old marine outfall piping, which was recently replaced.
“This is the reason why we’re doing a proactive measure,” said De Pol. “We haven’t had any issues with it, it’s not in a marine, which is harsher of an environment, but this is a multimillion-dollar piece of infrastructure that is very critical … we don’t want to be caught with any surprises.”
Pure Technologies was one of two companies that submitted proposals and was selected based on a combination of technical and financial criteria, the regional district said.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com