MEL Benefits From ChinaÂ’s Sewer Upgrade Programme

Sonar manufacturer MEL (Marine Electronics Ltd) has been achieving significant sales of its 1512 Pipe Profiling Sonars in China due to the increasing levels of maintenance being carried-out on the countryÂ’s sewer networks. In the past few months fifteen of these advanced profiling sonars have been sold to companies and organisations needing to obtain precise images of underwater silt and debris build-up inside the countryÂ’s expanding sewage networks.

 

 

MEL director Brian Evans believes that this is a direct reflection of the country’s willingness to import technology that is unavailable locally.

 

“China is finalising the details of its 12th Five Year Plan and we are expecting the country to continue its push towards the expansion and modernisation of its sewer networks,” said Brian Evans, director of MEL.  “In China our sonars are sold through our local distributors so it is difficult for us to know exactly where they are being used. However, during the 11th Five-Year Plan we know that the country was aiming to achieve a 70 per cent level of sewage and wastewater treatment in the cities and 80 per cent provincially. This reflects the national concern about the predicted increase in wastewater generation. In 2002 the country reportedly generated 57.2 billion tons of wastewater in 2002 and sources expect this to rise to 79 billion tons by 2015. Independent analysts have shown that new technology in relation to sewage systems is most needed in eight emerging regional markets. These are Tianjin, Dailan, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Shenzen, Xiamen, Chongquing and Wuhan and are where we are hoping to achieve further sales.”

 

“The pipe profiling sonars can play an important part in achieving these targets because they enable the existing sewer networks to operate at full capacity. By scanning the inside of a pipe it is possible to see below the surface of the waste water flowing through it and identify locations where silt and debris is accumulating and reducing the capacity of the system,” said Brian Evans. “Selective cleaning of these locations is much faster and more efficient than simply scraping or hydro-jetting the entire system and it also enables engineers to identify any damage that might otherwise be invisible to them.”

 

Although China’s sewage engineers may be regular users of CCTV systems for pipeline inspection, these are incapable of providing useful data below the water line. With the MEL 1512 sonar head mounted on a float or crawler it can be pulled through the sewer to reveal exactly how much silt or debris is present below the water. When a CCTV camera is also mounted on the float, the exposed pipe can be visually inspected at the same time so that engineers can gain a complete understanding of the condition of the sewer.  The images obtained can be presented as a split display on a PC to provide a real time view of the pipe above and below the water simultaneously. This enables the most serious blockages to be prioritised while saving time and operating costs by eliminating the need to clean sewers where no significant blockages exist. Post cleaning inspections can also be performed below the water to verify that the work has been satisfactory.