SILVER LAKE, OH, May 29, 2009 -- Dick Fenwick, Service Director, Village of Silver Lake, Ohio had a plan to figure out where the extra flow entering the WWTP was coming from. The Village of Silver Lake proceeded with the installation of flow monitors. It was discovered during the monitoring process that rainfall always caused an extreme spike in the flow.
CTI, a local engineering firm was hired by the Village to perform an in-depth flow study. The results were informative to say the least: Newer sewers -- these particular lines were installed during the 1950s -- had the most inflow and infiltration. The need to locate and fix the I & I issues became Priority One.
Most of the sewers installed in Silver Lake predate the homes there. The host pipe of the main lines, laterals and house service connections are all VCP (vitrified clay pipe). Many of the latter have leaked since service was instated, when the houses were built.
The mayor of Silver Lake at the time was aware of CTI, and contacted the firm to consult on the Village's I & I issues. CTI's engineers recommended trenchless rehabilitation of the affected lines. The 50+-year design life was a factor in the recommendation to go trenchless, along with the process being less disruptive to residents.
The Silver Lake staff, including Dick Fenwick, met with the staffs of CTI and of Easy Liner. Dick frankly admitted he needed some convincing that trenchless was the way to go. He believed no mud would indeed be less disruptive to the residents of this quiet little lakeside village, and that trenchless is the more environmentally friendly solution. But he just didn't see how it could be done. Silver Lake most often digs to remove and then replace worn-out host pipe.
United Survey Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio would be the contractor on an already-agreed-upon trenchless test installation on the home service lines. Staff from United Survey Inc. and representatives of Easy Liner invited Dick to come out to the jobsite. They believed he would be convinced if he'd observe the installation of the Saddle Liner, a house service connection rehabilitation process made by Easy Liner.
Dick accepted the invitation, and brought with him his colleague, Kevin Salmon, Assistant Service Director/Inspector for the Village of Silver Lake. Kevin is licensed by the Ohio EPA as a Class II operator in Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection.
Dick found the installation process interesting and informative. "We had other municipalities on hand to watch the whole thing," he says. "It was quite a deal."
After watching this installation, Dick agreed that trenchless was indeed the way to go…all the time. "Compared to areas in our village where we have had the opportunity to repair or replace lines, the whole lining process is far less disruptive to everyone involved," he says. "If lining and dig-and-replace are at or about the same cost, go with the liner! Lining is just easier and it's a greener way to go. These days, we need more of that."
Prior to the start of the remainder of the rehabilitation job, CTI and Dick determined that all host pipes would be lined. They especially liked the 50+-years designed life of the product in this application.
Overall, the Village of Silver Lake had 7000 linear feet of Easy Liner cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) installed, including 120 Saddle Liner installations. The Village opted to use traditional dig-and-replace operations in about 12 locations.
"In hindsight," Dick says, "I would line the host pipe -- laterals included -- 12 to 15 linear feet, right up to the homeowner's cleanout." He reasons that this way, there would be fewer callbacks from Silver Lake residents, asking for the municipal staff to "root out" or unplug their portion of the lateral line.
Dick has been with the Village of Silver Lake for many years, and has seen many technologies come and go. A member of the Service Directors of Ohio, Street Maintenance & Sanitation Officials of Ohio (SMSO), American Water Works Association (AWWA) and North East Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), Dick also has his Class II Operator license for Water Distribution and his Class II Operator license for Sewer Collection. He knows this business from all sides.
Easy Liner is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gadmon Industries. Combined, Gadmon and Easy Liner have over 10 million linear feet of CIPP installed all over the United States and worldwide.
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