Campinas, also known as the Brazilian Silicon Valley, is one of the largest cities in Brazil with more than one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area. In some districts the city’s water authority SANASA was facing ongoing drinking water loss caused by leaks in the 30-year-old pipeline network. For economic, environmental and time reasons, it was decided to completely renew the damaged drinking water pipelines instead of having to repeatedly repair them. For this reason SANASA purchased a Tracto-Technik GRUNDOBURST 400 G3; the first water authority in Brazil to do so.
The replacement works were carried out by SANASA, having started in the district of Sousas with about 2.4 kilometres of defective drinking water pipes to be upgraded using trenchless methods. On 16 June the bursting machine, equipped with Ø 35 mm Quick Lock bursting rods, started to replace the old asbestos cement pipes ID 50 mm with PE pipes OD 63 mm in the calm residential area Colinas do Ermitage. The total replacement length of 400 metres was burst in sections of 50 – 100 metres due to several sewer, gas and telecommunications lines along the bursting path and a large drain pipe running parallel to the old drinking water pipeline.
As the exact position of this existing underground service line was not known, this was the perfect task for applying the static pipe bursting technique. Despite many repair clamps fixing the old asbestos cement drinking water pipeline, the complete replacement project in Sousas was completed within 20 days including the disassembly of the construction and intermediate pits and the re-establishment of the water supply, which had to be bypassed during the bursting process.
SANASA will extend its pipe rehabilitation program using the pipe bursting technique to further districts of Campinas. In the near future 1,600 metres of the old asbestos cement pipeline will be replaced with new PE pipes OD 63 mm and 400 metres with new PE pipes ND 90 mm.
