New Article: Examining Sewer Renewal and I/I Solutions with Low Pressure Sewer Systems

The December issue of Underground Infrastructure Management (UIM) magazine features an article by E/One's Keith McHale, PE, our inflow and infiltration project manager.

As the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card reported this year, the country's water and wastewater infrastructure needs can cost upwards of $298 billion over the next 20 years. The grade of "D" that the ASCE gave our wastewater systems indicate a serious need to address sewer system overflows, combined sewer overflows and other pipe-related issues.

Gravity sewer pipe in need of repair

Communities around the country are experiencing failures of their gravity sewer systems due to their age -- many pipes in established municipalities are easily 100 years old; sewer pipes even date to the 1860s. When these pipes fail (or at least compromised), engineers and municipalities will consider to repair, rehabilitate or replace the system entirely:

• Sewer repairs are generally used for localized areas of failure or deterioration. The objective is to restore the sewer to an acceptable operating condition.
• Sewer rehabilitation aims to restore the structural integrity of pipe, extend the operational service life, and in many cases, recapture the hydraulic capacity of the sewer pipe.  
• Sewer replacement is the most extensive approach to infrastructure renewal. Replacement involves the complete abandonment of the existing sewer pipe and the installation of a new pipeline.

Read the entire article on UIM's web site.

Infiltration and Inflow problems? Watch our video about I&I solutions and learn how an E/One Sewer system can solve your gravity sewer problems.

ASCE Infrastructure Report Card Released

ASCE released its Infrastructure Report Card a few weeks ago. Wastewater improved slightly, from a D- in 2009 to a D this year.

"Capital investment needs for the nation's wastewater and stormwater systems are estimated to total $298 billion over the next twenty years," according to the Report's web site. Stormwater is a relatively small, though increasing, piece of the spending, but included in the wastewater section.

The largest percentage of the "need" is for expanding and fixing pipes in order to address sanitary sewer overflows and combined sewer overflows.

From the report:

"In 2008, EPA reported that the U.S. 20-year investment needs for aging wastewater treatment totaled just over $298 billion, or almost $15 billion annually. The total represented a 17% increase over the 2004 Clean Watershed Needs Survey (CWNS) results. Meanwhile, annual appropriations for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) totaled $9 billion over the five years from 2008 to 2012, an average of slightly more than $1.8 billion annually, well short of the annual need. Congressional appropriations totaled approximately $10.5 billion between 2008 and 2012—about $2.1 billion annually or $42 billion over 20 years, 14% of the 20-year needs.


"Of the total needs, over $202 billion in the CWNS was the nationwide capital investment needed to control wastewater pollution for up to a 20-year period. The 2008 report included estimates of $134 billion for wastewater treatment and collection systems, $55 billion for combined sewer overflow corrections, and $9 billion for storm-water management."

Get the full report at www.infrastructurereportcard.org.