According to industry legend, agricultural engineer Eric Wood was repairing a corrosion hole in an air duct on a mushroom farm when he conceived the concept behind cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) – the use of fluid pressure to press the repair medium against the pipe wall while it cured in place to form a new pipe.

Supported by entrepreneurs Doug Chick and Brain Chandler, Mr Wood took the concept and sourced materials from resin producer Scott Bader and felt maker WE Rawson – establishing the company now known as Insituform.

CIPP is now used all over the world.

Spain

Insituform used CIPP to complete a pressure capacity upgrade for a primary sewage force main in the coastal town of Garrucha, located in Spain, in December 2010.

The sewer main carries roughly 80 per cent of the town’s sewage flow. The population of Garrucha increases by almost 60 per cent each summer, straining the community’s water and wastewater infrastructure.

To deal with this influx, an upgrade to a nearby pump station provided an opportunity to renovate the original pipe with CIPP.

The original pipe was designed in the 1980s to operate at 2 bar; two completely brand new pumps meant the force main pressure would increase from 2 bar to 4 bar.

This project is the first-ever European installation of Insituform’s InsituMain System.

United States

In the second half of 2010, the City of Decatur, located in Illinois, selected CIPP to rehabilitate three water mains in order to prevent disruption to its historic streets.

Water main breaks had caused temporary road elevation due to flooding, subsequent depression and warping of the original brick pavement on historic Macon Street near the Millikin University campus.

In a historic area, the road had to be preserved or repaired to its original state while undergoing necessary repairs and rehabilitation.

Over 600 ft of the original 12 inch cast iron water main, installed in the 1940s, was renewed using a fiber-reinforced CIPP.

In one day, the 600 ft section of CIPP was inserted into the host pipe using a water inversion process and cured using hot water.

Canada

In December 2010, four ageing culverts running underneath a highway in Boisbriand, Quebec, was upgraded using the CIPP process.

The corrugated metal stormwater culverts were severely deteriorated and in need of intensive repairs.

The four culverts consisted of two 36 inch culverts at a length of over 160 ft, and two 48 inch culverts running 260 ft each.

Each installation was achieved using an air-inversion, steam-cure process that cuts down on the amount of energy and water needed on the installation job site.

Australia

In June 2010, Kembla Watertech successfully rehabilitated 1.8 km of a 600 mm diameter sewer trunk main in Glenrock State Conservation National Park, New South Wales.

The Dudley Charlestown system transports wastewater from the Dudley Charlestown catchment to the Burwood Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant. This trunk main was part of the Hunter Water upgrade management plan for the Dudley Charlestown upgrade project, which involved abandoning the Kahibah 1 wastewater pump station.

During the course of the rehabilitation works, Kembla was involved in 14 separate Enviroliner air inversions of various lengths. The longest inversion length was 210 m through four maintenance holes along the Yuelarbah Management trail.

The company used techniques such as Enviroliner pressure grade CIPP, for the lining of the 1,800 m existing gravity main, including a 110 m long aqueduct.

Hong Kong

In August 2010, Insituform Technologies started CIPP work on a $US17 million project for the Drainage Services Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Insituform was recently awarded two term contract renewals, which provide for the rehabilitation of wastewater pipelines located throughout the highly populated Central District and Mainland North District for three and five years respectively.

The 4–84 inch diameter circular and box shape pipelines were constructed of clay, concrete or brick.

Some of these pipelines dated back to the colonial years of Hong Kong.