Columbus is building an underground storm sewer tunnel which will be the largest public works project in the city’s history. The 4-mile long storm water sewer tunnel is 175 feet under the city and is nearly complete with 3,000 feet to go. At 5-feet an hour, the massive 95-ton drill is doing its best to churn through miles of limestone. The city’s combined storm water and sewer system have become overloaded during heavy rains. The sewer lines have not been able to contain all of the capacity, thereby releasing millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Scioto River. To ensure an expeditious resolution, a team of 100 workers working 24 hours a day hope to have the project completed by 2017. The 500-foot-long drilling machine is a cross between a submarine and a huge mechanical worm with the 95-ton cutting wheel on the front. The machine was built in Germany to digest dry rock by sending it back through a crushing screw shaft in its belly, depositing the crushed rock on conveyers that take it to the surface. The tunnel is part of the answer to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s mandate that the city divert polluted water away from the region’s rivers. It will stretch from the Jackson Pike Wastewater Treatment Plant south of the city to the Arena District.
The City of Cincinnati is also busy with a project to improve the capacity of the sewers. A “wet weather improvement plan,” is being implemented in an effort to prevent raw sewage from flowing into nearby streams, rivers, tributaries and residents’ basements.
Certified Installers take note: Perma-Liner Industries would like to invite you to our Refresher Training (Perma-Lateral™ specific) that will take place on July 12th and 13th at our Clearwater facility!! Please plan on attending. Register by calling 1-866-336-2568 or Click Here! See you then!
