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BUILDING TYPE
Residential Applications
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COMPLETION
2016
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PROJECT TYPE
Renovation
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COUNTRY
Canada
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SIZE
84”RSC100 and 84”RSC160
Total Length 600 meters plus 5 elbows and 5 manholes
Weholite relieves the City of Fort St. John of its storm water overflows
The City of Fort St. John, situated in the province of British Columbia, has experienced a substantial population growth within the past few years. To support the population growth, the city installed many new hard surface roads and sidewalks. As the number of these hard surfaces grew, the amount of rainfall that could be absorbed into the ground decreased, and the volume of stormwater to be managed increased. As a result, the existing stormwater piping could no longer handle the increased volume flow after large rainstorms and in turn street flooding would occur. To solve the street flooding issue, the city commissioned the development of a new Stormwater Master Plan in 2013, prepared by Urban Systems Ltd.
Infra Pipe came through with delivery on all Pipe and Welding services which allowed for the installation to conclude on schedule. It was very important to complete on schedule given that winter months were rapidly approaching.”
Eric Sears, Urban Systems Design Engineer
The plan examined current and future stormwater capacity requirements in the south central area and concluded that the size of drainage piping system needed to be increased to address flooding and soil erosion and minimise any impact on aquatic life.
In 2015, Chilliwack-based Jakes Construction Ltd. was selected to perform the proposed stormwater upgrades to the existing stormwater piping system in Fort St. John, located along 96A Street just north of Frontage Road. In addition to the new piping system requiring to handle the higher stormwater flow rates, it also needed to provide connections to tie in the existing storm drains, catch basins and laterals. The challenge with these tie-ins was that the existing stormwater infrastructure piping was made from various piping materials; concrete, PVC and possibly ductile iron. Any solution being proposed would be required to provide connections that could easily join these different materials into the new piping.
Since stormwater piping can be subjected to large swings in pH, hydrogen sulfide attack, microbiological growth, corrosion, etc., a piping material which would be able to withstand these types of aggressive environments, with no or minimal effect over its design life needed to be selected. By selecting a robust material, life cycles costs could be significantly reduced.
100% chemically inert
Weholite was selected as the stormwater piping system of choice due to its structural high density polyethylene (PE-HD) construction, making it one of the most robust and chemically inert materials on the market today. Selecting a material which is 100% chemically inert and not simply coated, means that over the 100 year design life of the material, operations and maintenance costs remain low as there are no coatings to be worn out. In addition, as stormwater passes over the surfaces of roads and sidewalks, it absorbs many contaminants such as fertilizers, gas, oil, salt, battery acid, etc. These contaminants can easily dissolve and corrode materials such as concrete and steel whereas PE-HD remains inert.
“City of Fort St. John; Installation went smoothly and was completed on-time. The advantage Weholite has over other materials is that it is light and that the long lengths allowed for a much faster installation compared with other materials. We look forward to the next Phase in 2016.”
Victor Shopland, Director of Integrated Services
Lightweight advantage of Weholite
Due to the high strength-to-weight ratio of Weholite, the pipe was easier to load, transport, handle and install in comparison to concrete which is extremely heavy and cumbersome to handle. For example, a 25ft. length of Weholite weighs 4,750lbs. An 8ft. length of concrete pipe weighs 20,000lbs. The light weight of Weholite resulted in an increase in installation efficiency and a decrease in machinery and labor costs. Another benefit of the Weholite, which contributed to completing the project on time, was its long lengths of pipe. Longer lengths meant fewer joints which resulted in fewer welds and accelerated installation in comparison to other piping materials.
A tougher piping system
When phase II of the project was completed, 2,165ft (660m) of 84” Weholite pipe had been installed. Since Weholite was selected, it was possible to take advantage of a newer, tougher and structurally advanced piping system. The installation was completed on schedule and on budget and the pipe has performed as it was designed to do to date; relieve the City of Fort St. John of its storm water overflows.
Phase III
Phase III will be a continuation of this pipeline along 94 Avenue from 96A Street to 100 Street and will form part of the 2016 Capital Budget. Given our successful delivery with this project, Infra Pipe is expecting to fully participate in this new development.
