Only 30 per cent of homeowners living in areas close to ongoing sewer relining projects signed up for discounted pipe repairs by Monday’s deadline, a number St. Albert public works finds surprisingly low.
The city has contracted IVIS Inc. to repair sewer pipe laterals on city property that show signs of root intrusion. The company uses a trenchless technology to repair the pipeline, saturating a polyester liner with resin, which is then inserted into the lateral pipe. Once it has been properly installed, the lining is cured using steam, a process that takes only one to three hours.
“Once it’s cured, you have a brand new pipe,” said Krystal Gray, marketing manager for IVIS. “It’s better than the conventional dig and replace.”
In neighbourhoods where the laterals on public lands extend onto private property, the company offered homeowners a discounted rate to have the pipe that runs to their house rehabilitated using the same method. While IVIS would not disclose the price offered to homeowners, city utilities manager Dan Rites estimated the cost at $2,500 to $3,000, which he said is considerably cheaper than contracting a private company to do it.
“It’s less intrusive, less damaging to landscaping. They just do a couple of pits or a small hydrovac hole,” Rites said. “It’s a quicker turn-around time.”
Rites said he was surprised that only 30 per cent of homeowners took IVIS up on the offer, given how much it would cost to replace a sewer line privately.
“There’s some benefits to the homeowner — if we’re doing our side, we’ll have to excavate it anyways so the homeowner gets to save on those costs.”
IVIS’ method is suitable for the majority of the problems the city is experiencing with its laterals and mains, such as root intrusion, pipe degradation and other structural problems. The one limitation to the technology is that it can’t be used on sagging lines.
For the 30 per cent of homeowners who have agreed to IVIS’ discounted price to have their laterals relined, Gray explained the process is relatively simple.
“They won’t be disturbed because we will vent [the lateral] at the manhole and then the entry point at their house,” she said. “They’ll have a brand new pipe underneath their house.”
The company estimates that pipes relined using its trenchless method will last 50 years longer. IVIS has been working for the city doing similar repair work for several years, identifying potential trouble spots by accessing the city’s inspection reports. Gray said the company generally repairs laterals a few streets at a time.
