Old, damaged pipe systems lead to unnecessary water losses all over the world. Water utilities invest billions every year to reduce leakage. Trenchless technology is ideal to sustainably prevent this water loss and significantly reduce the need for investment.
Damaged pipelines – the main cause of water loss
It is no secret that the ageing process of pipelines is accompanied by more and more damages. In other words, the older the pipelines, the higher the water losses due to increased damage. It is also no secret that the underground infrastructure in many countries is outdated, this includes Europe, and the need for maintenance and renewals is enormous. It comes therefore as no surprise, that leaks in the pipelines are among the most common defects in water supply systems – and in all countries.
Worldwide, an average of 35 % of the water provided seeps into the ground unused due to leaks in the pipelines; the front-runner here is Armenia with water losses of 58 %. Even in the (richer) EU countries, the average loss is 23 %, which adds up to 2,171 m³/year! In Germany the annual water loss in public water supply amounted to 5.2 percent the total gross water volume in 2019 according to the Federal Statistical Office (StBA). Thus, Germany is in a rather good position in an international comparison and records significantly less water loss than its European neighbours France, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Ireland and Hungary. However, in this country as in the rest of the world, there is a need for action in the medium and long term with regard to the age of the pipeline networks.
Need for pipeline renewal on the example of Germany
Let us take a closer look at the situation in Germany as an example. Germany has 188 billion cubic metres of water at its disposal each year, which is provided via a pipeline network covering 544.000 km. The technical service life of pipelines lies between 50 and 80 years. But many of the pipeline networks, many of which were built in the post-war years, need to be renovated or even completely renewed, according to the experts of the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) and the Pipeline Construction Association (rbv). For cities and municipalities, whose largest and most important municipal assets include the water pipeline networks, this means an increasing need for renovation or renewal in the foreseeable future.
Investments in valuable pipeline network always worthwhile
To reduce water loss and secure the asset value of the public pipe networks, their strategic maintenance is increasingly becoming the focus of boroughs, cities, planners and utility companies. For cost and environmental reasons alone, it will not be possible to tap this potential in the medium or long term using traditional open-cut methods. This why trenchless technology, or to be more precise, underground pipe replacement using pipe bursting, is a key technology for renewing the large number of damaged water and wastewater pipes in urban and rural areas in an economical and resource-saving manner with significantly shorter construction times.
Water loss sustainably avoided with pipe bursting
The pipe bursting method is as simple as it is ingenious: the old pipeline is broken apart and radially displaced into the surrounding soil, while the new pipe is pulled into the existing bore path in the same working step. The pipe bursting method is particularly suitable for outdated pipelines with typical damage, which can no longer be repaired, such as cracks, positional deviations and mechanical wear, which lead to water losses. Adaptions to the pipeline capacity, by pulling in new pipes with the same, smaller, or even larger diameters, are also possible with pipe bursting. The result is a new pipe in the existing route with a service life of 80 – 100 years with perfect static conditions and considerable time and cost savings, compared to the open trench method. Even repair methods such as pipe lining cannot compete with the bursting method in terms of sustainability.
Depending on the task, two different process types can be applied: The dynamic pipe bursting method is particularly suitable for applications from manhole to manhole. Static pipe bursting is pre-destined for the renewal of media pipes made of brittle, ductile or plastic materials from manhole and/or pit to pit and/or manhole. Repairs of partial damage by means of relining is also possible with the static pipe bursting method. Regardless of the type of method, the application of pipe bursting has numerous economic and ecological advantages, primarily the following:
A large-scale renewal of aging service networks with trenchless technology would be an ideal solution to avoid water losses in the future and at the same time maintain or even increase the value of water supply networks. In the medium and long term, it is not only the environment and people who benefit from the use of trenchless technology, which conserves land and resources, but also the coffers of public and private utilities and, last but not least, the taxpayer.
Damaged pipelines – the main cause of water loss
It is no secret that the ageing process of pipelines is accompanied by more and more damages. In other words, the older the pipelines, the higher the water losses due to increased damage. It is also no secret that the underground infrastructure in many countries is outdated, this includes Europe, and the need for maintenance and renewals is enormous. It comes therefore as no surprise, that leaks in the pipelines are among the most common defects in water supply systems – and in all countries.
Worldwide, an average of 35 % of the water provided seeps into the ground unused due to leaks in the pipelines; the front-runner here is Armenia with water losses of 58 %. Even in the (richer) EU countries, the average loss is 23 %, which adds up to 2,171 m³/year! In Germany the annual water loss in public water supply amounted to 5.2 percent the total gross water volume in 2019 according to the Federal Statistical Office (StBA). Thus, Germany is in a rather good position in an international comparison and records significantly less water loss than its European neighbours France, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Ireland and Hungary. However, in this country as in the rest of the world, there is a need for action in the medium and long term with regard to the age of the pipeline networks.
Need for pipeline renewal on the example of Germany
Let us take a closer look at the situation in Germany as an example. Germany has 188 billion cubic metres of water at its disposal each year, which is provided via a pipeline network covering 544.000 km. The technical service life of pipelines lies between 50 and 80 years. But many of the pipeline networks, many of which were built in the post-war years, need to be renovated or even completely renewed, according to the experts of the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) and the Pipeline Construction Association (rbv). For cities and municipalities, whose largest and most important municipal assets include the water pipeline networks, this means an increasing need for renovation or renewal in the foreseeable future.
Investments in valuable pipeline network always worthwhile
To reduce water loss and secure the asset value of the public pipe networks, their strategic maintenance is increasingly becoming the focus of boroughs, cities, planners and utility companies. For cost and environmental reasons alone, it will not be possible to tap this potential in the medium or long term using traditional open-cut methods. This why trenchless technology, or to be more precise, underground pipe replacement using pipe bursting, is a key technology for renewing the large number of damaged water and wastewater pipes in urban and rural areas in an economical and resource-saving manner with significantly shorter construction times.
Water loss sustainably avoided with pipe bursting
The pipe bursting method is as simple as it is ingenious: the old pipeline is broken apart and radially displaced into the surrounding soil, while the new pipe is pulled into the existing bore path in the same working step. The pipe bursting method is particularly suitable for outdated pipelines with typical damage, which can no longer be repaired, such as cracks, positional deviations and mechanical wear, which lead to water losses. Adaptions to the pipeline capacity, by pulling in new pipes with the same, smaller, or even larger diameters, are also possible with pipe bursting. The result is a new pipe in the existing route with a service life of 80 – 100 years with perfect static conditions and considerable time and cost savings, compared to the open trench method. Even repair methods such as pipe lining cannot compete with the bursting method in terms of sustainability.
Depending on the task, two different process types can be applied: The dynamic pipe bursting method is particularly suitable for applications from manhole to manhole. Static pipe bursting is pre-destined for the renewal of media pipes made of brittle, ductile or plastic materials from manhole and/or pit to pit and/or manhole. Repairs of partial damage by means of relining is also possible with the static pipe bursting method. Regardless of the type of method, the application of pipe bursting has numerous economic and ecological advantages, primarily the following:
- New pipeline with new service life in an existing bore path
- Savings of time, costs and natural capital compared to the open trench method
- No road damages, very little traffic disruption
- Considerably shorter construction times, minimal dust/noise emissions
- No follow-on costs, due to ground subsidence, groundwater impact
- Minimal civil engineering work / costs (only for pits/manholes)
- No installation errors, high installation quality, high conformity with regulations
- Applicable for almost all types of damage and old materials
- Intelligent, space-saving machine technology
- Manageable requirement for equipment and accessories
- Uncomplicated and quick to handle (high daily output)
A large-scale renewal of aging service networks with trenchless technology would be an ideal solution to avoid water losses in the future and at the same time maintain or even increase the value of water supply networks. In the medium and long term, it is not only the environment and people who benefit from the use of trenchless technology, which conserves land and resources, but also the coffers of public and private utilities and, last but not least, the taxpayer.
