Submitted:
The Prince William County Service Authority will begin performing important preventative maintenance on the sanitary sewer system in Montclair next week.
The Service Authority will be lining sewer mains off Vista Drive with work scheduled to be finished in three weeks.
The inner walls of the sewer mains are lined with Cured-In-Place-Pipe. The lining process is done in lieu of replacing the pipe itself, which is often a much more costly and inconvenient measure for both customers and the utility.
Once completed, the resin-like substance used in the CIPP process hardens and essentially becomes a new pipe inside a pipe. This protects the main from tree root intrusion and corrosion that occurs over long periods of time. CIPP also prevents groundwater infiltration during rain events, which helps reduce wastewater treatment costs.
“If there are any cracks or roots in the line, it will make the pipe structurally sound again,” Inflow & Infiltration Department Supervisor James McCarroll said.
The average sewer pipe lasts about 40 years, while CIPP extends that lifespan to 90 years. Mains on Vista Drive are nearly 40 years old.
Each year, the Service Authority inspects more than a hundred miles of sewer line to see where CIPP might be implemented. From July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, the Service Authority lined nearly 50,000 feet of pipe.
“Once the CIPP is installed, our crews aren’t returning to the same pipe every three to six months to cut out roots or remove grease,” said Operations & Maintenance Director Don Pannell. “They’re able to move on to other important preventive maintenance activities.”
