Burst 3ft water main

[mike42]

Obviously not a diy disaster but a disaster all the same.

I would be interested in some technical colour to this. I mean how the heck would you repair a leak in such large pipe? I guess you can't go to B&Q and buy a slip coupling 3ft diameter.

Also, why does it make it harder to fix being in a flooded field? Surely under a road or motorway or any built up area wold be worse?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-42377828

 

[mattylad]

per5haps they can turn the water off, but because it is a main feed there will be an awful lot of water still in it that comes out when they cut it for the repair?
Or maybe the farmer is not playing ball, or his cows want to play with the water engineers?

 

[bernardgreen]

The large pipe that burst in our village two years ago was repaired with two shells that were bolted together around the pipe to seal the leak, I think that "quick fix" repair is still there.

The flooded field presents the risk of contaminated flood water getting into the pipe if the pressure in the pipe is reduced to be less than the head of the flood water.

 

[Jackrae]

A 'large pipe burst in a field' is no longer a 'large pipe burst in a field' it's a major problem in a very large bog. At least in roadway there is hard-standing to get machinery into place.

 

[cjard]

Plus, it's pretty easy to dig a hole in dry ground to unearth a pipe and get in to repair it. In a flooded location there's the additional complication that what you're trying to repair is under water, and there's a struggle to pump the dirty water away so it's no longer submerged

 

[Ian H]

They need some of these:

http://www.vikingjohnson.com/en

 

[Deleted member 174758]

At one time I contracted for one of the water utilities. They excavate a hole down to the leak and below it to reveal the pipe. Next the inspector either turns the water off in that section or, if they can deal with it they just reduce the flow through the affected section. A "patch" - basically a curved piece of cast iron which has a thick closed cell rubber facing on the concave side - is put over the hole and fixed in place using what can only be described as a pair of the the biggest Jubilee clips you have ever seen. Once the leak has been sorted out the repair team flush-out the pipework and the pressure is restored by the inspector. A second team then come out and fill the hole