ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR LARGE DIAMETER SEWER AND SIPHON CLEANING

Many utilities throughout the United States are faced with the problem of maintaining their large diameter sewer lines. Conventional cleaning and television inspection methods, while adequate for smaller pipes, seldom produce the results hoped for in pipes above 60 inch diameter. Numerous agencies have invested tens of thousands of dollars in attempts to regain the lost capacity of their trunk infrastructure, not knowing equipment has been available for the past few years which can safely and efficiently remove material accumulations which have taken decades to create. Some communities have even constructed elaborate by-pass pumping systems, attempting to dewater a trunk-line, placing mechanical equipment into the pipe as they worked to remove CAPACITY ROBBING materials out of the pipe. These bypass systems can be extremely costly to maintain during a project's duration. The Jigawon™ Cleaning System eliminates the need for costly bypass systems and in many cases is the most effective protocol which can be used in large diameter sewer cleaning projects and siphons cleaning projects.Beginning in March 2004, the Jigawon Sewer Cleaning system was implemented in downtown Cleveland, OH to clean an one hundred thirty eight inch (plus), diameter sewer line, over 10,000 feet in length, belonging to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. At this time, the project is 90% complete, after having removed over 3,000 tons of debris.This cleaning and inspection project requires the Jigawon™ to be inserted into the live system, eliminating the need for bypass control of the flows. In fact, the process uses existing wastewater flow to assist as cleaning occurs in the system. The pipe was never out of service during either the cleaning or inspection process. This project included a 12-foot diameter pipe, with changes in direction, a maximum depth of 55 feet, and with 2,000 feet between manholes. Entrance and exit is achieved through in-place manholes. The pipe, in locations, was almost 1/2 full of debris. At one location the cleaning process was pushing about 800 cubic yards of material through the pipe to the extraction manhole. Once the debris is removed from the pipe, it is dewatered with the water being returned to the system and debris disposed as per the contract document required. On this project a camera and sonar were used to insure that the flow capacity was restored to 95% of the system's original capacity.