Sewer manhole rehabilitation in Tonawanda
When the town of Tonawanda, New York received a $5 million grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, they wasted no time implementing plans to rehabilitate their 70-year-old sewer system.
Like many towns across the country, Tonawanda’s aging infrastructure was suffering from severe inflow and infiltration issues. While these issues may have started small, over the decades they began to have an impact on system capacity and structural integrity. According to Ronald Boss, senior construction inspector assigned as field supervisor of the project, over 90,000 linear feet of varying size sewer pipe and 350 brick manholes required rehabilitation.
“I work for a consulting firm that was retained by the town of Tonawanda to help coordinate the varying contractors and ensure the work was being done in accordance with the specifications of the project,” said Ronald. “Our main focus was on rehabilitating the areas with the worst infiltration problems and stopping groundwater from infiltrating the sewer system.”
ART selected to rehabilitate 350 sewer manholes
Advanced Rehabilitation Technology, an OBIC certified installer, was contracted to rehabilitate sewer manholes included in the project. “ART came out and did a free demonstration on a precast wet well so the town could see exactly how their lining system would work,” recalled Ronald who had never worked with a polyurea lining before. “After seeing it in action, I feel that the OBIC 1000 polyurea and OBIC 1306 foam manhole treatment are the right products for long-term, long-lasting restoration of our country’s aging sanitary sewer system.”
Made of a flexible polymer that is environmentally friendly, OBIC sewer lining repair systems are spray applied and cure in minutes. This allowed ART to rehabilitate Tonawanda’s 350 manholes with minimum disruption and greater protection than thin film or more rigid materials. “It seemed to really bond well to the brick,” said Ron, “It is also a somewhat flexible product that will move a little bit with the freeze-thaw cycles that we have here, allowing it last longer.”
Manhole rehab in backyards and golf courses
One of the biggest challenges facing the ART installation teams was gaining access to the manholes that needed to be rehabilitated. Six manholes had limited access, as they were located on a golf course, and another sixty were in backyards. Despite this challenge, every manhole was successfully rehabilitated while maintaining good relationships with the residents and zero damage to the golf course.
“The ART crews worked together to achieve a quality product for the client. If there were any challenges or concerns, they were addressed immediately,” said Ronald. “It has been a pleasure working with such a great group of people with that can-do attitude.”
Safety is a priority
Over 8 months of manhole rehabilitation in Tonawanda, Ronald worked with seven different ART installation crews from locations in Bryan, Ohio, and Cumberland, Maryland. Regardless of who he was working with, one thing remained consistent with every crew he worked with.” Every member of ART’s application crew are well versed in the proper safety procedures required when working within permit-required confined spaces, and they put this knowledge into practice daily on this project,” said Ronald.
Schedule a customized product demonstration
ART is an OBIC certified installer and can offer high-quality, cost-effective alternatives to the replacement of sewer pipes and manholes. OBIC lining systems are designed to extend the life of the structure by 50 years or longer, and all ART-installed multi-layer systems and OBIC Armor systems include a 10-year manufacturing warranty.
For more information, or to schedule a free, customized product demonstration visit us online or call 419-636-2684.
