First connected drinking water network installed in the Pyrénées-Orientales region
Elydan Group RYB fitted the drinking water network serving the 4 communes of Bouleternère, Saint-Michel-de-Llotes, Corbère and Corbère-les-Cabanes (66) with its RFID Eliot detection technology when the water distribution conduit was replaced by the inter-commune syndicate. Thanks to the georeferencing provided by the Eliot solution, the 4 communes will be able to monitor and maintain their networks and reduce the risk and cost of the pipework being pierced during subsequent construction work – a first for the Pyrénées-Orientales region.
No more probing about to find the right pipe when it’s sprung a leak! Eliot detection technology is an innovative product that won us over immediately because it means we can eliminate a lot of dug-up roads by only digging in the right place. Not only that, but the risk of damage is also reduced.
A new and modern HDPE water distribution network
At the end of 2015, the Syndicat Intercommunal d’Adduction d’Eau Potable (S.I.A.E.P) of the Bouleternère, Saint-Michel de Llotes, Corbère and Corbère-les-Cabanes communes called on TAS, the public works company, to replace its drinking water distribution conduit that dated back to 1954. All the products were supplied by the PUM Plastiques Perpignan plastic solutions and products trading company which coordinated the project between the suppliers and the end customer.
The old pipework was cast iron and was replaced with RYB DN 180 PN 16 polyethylene pipe, an economical and modern material that is especially well-suited to the distribution and transport of water.
As polyethylene pipe is flexible, it can be wound onto drums, allowing very long uninterrupted lengths to be supplied – a distinct advantage for this project as the total length of the site was 3.3 km, including numerous twists and turns.
Georeferenced HDPE pipes
To make the buried pipes detectable, T.A.S. chose to incorporate the Eliot detection system into the HDPE pipework. The unique RFID technology Eliot uses provides fast, easy and precise detection of buried networks to a depth of 1.5 metres with accuracy levels down to the centimetre, in any type of soil and in any type of installation environment.
As a small local company, we were extremely proud to be in involved in this project and use an innovative technology solution which is out of the ordinary in public works. Beyond the fact that the Eliot technology meets the current georeferencing regulatory requirements, it also provides unique post-installation benefits for a relatively low investment.
In an environment full of underground pipes that have been there for decades and are difficult to locate, Eliot technology can help local authorities reduce the risk of accidents and damage to the water, electricity, gas and telecommunications networks during construction work.As part of the project which took 5 months to complete, an Eliot unit was installed every 15 metres along the pipes. There are many benefits to this detection system that were reaped both during and after installation:
- reduced costs with a surveyor only being needed on site to finish the project rather than for its entire duration,
- savings of 25 to 40 % on the infrastructure documentation process,
- improvements in employee safety due to a reduction in falls thanks to the detection being carried out on the surface with the Eliot scanner,
- full knowledge of the location of the network at the local authority’s fingertips,
a reduction in the risk of damage to the work during subsequent construction.
This Pyrénées-Orientales project was unique in that it combined the use of RYB polyethylene pipes with the Eliot technology in a strategic sector, namely that of distributing and transporting water. As a French industrial company, we were delighted to be able to provide the local authorities and companies with our innovative solutions and help them prevent construction site risks and improve the profitability and asset management of their buried networks.
