Southern trials leakage sealant

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE Southern Water has claimed to be the first UK water company to use a sealant that fixes leaking sewer pipes without the need to dig.

The water company said the two-part sealant has been used to repair leaking pipes in a number of Hampshire villages following successful trials in two Sussex villages.

The product comprises two liquids T1 and T2. T1 is injected under pressure into isolated leaking pipes so it format around the external side of the breach. The liquid is removed and replaced with T2 which reacts with the volumes of T1 that have formed around the leak to create an impervious sleeve which seals the leak.

The technology – sold as TurboGel and manufactured by German firm, Geochemie, is being trialled as part of a Southern Water project that focuses on reducing or slowing the amount of surface water which enters sewers during a storm.

Pathfinder lead, Keith Herbert said: “Although it is early days in trialling TuboGel we are encouraged with what we’re seeing and the potential benefits this can bring us.”

Geochemie said “several thousand kilometres” of pipe have been repaired using TurbGel in Germany and other European countries. It is, the company said, suitable for foul sewers only, and not for water mains. Geochemie described two case studies in southern France and northern Italy where costs were £91 and £115 per metre of pipeline.