Sustainability is a broad term for drinking and wastewater project specialist

GW Leidingtechniek BV of Helmond knows how to make every drinking and wastewater project a success. As in other sectors, this sector is increasingly striving to deploy the most sustainable solutions possible. That's something GW Leidingtechniek BV is well entrusted with, because, according to managing director Harm van Ganzenwinkel, the company puts this into practice in a variety of ways. 

Sustainability is a broad term, Harm begins. "A good example is the 8-year framework agreement with Waterschapsbedrijf Limburg. In it we make the EMVI promise to carry out one project completely emission-free. And already on the first project we are going to fulfill that promise." It involves replacing a 660-meter-long discharge pipe around 560 mm in Nieuw-Bergen. "We are making a new steered HDD bore and connecting it to the existing pipeline. Then we remove the old bore. All this with the use of exclusively electrical equipment, mostly from our own fleet. We ourselves are already quite advanced in electrifying our machinery and for specific solutions we call on our regular partners."

Life-extending maintenance

Another form of sustainability is life-extending maintenance of existing pipelines. Harm: "We do that by using various techniques, such as a pipe-in-tube method, an alignment method with a stocking or GRP sheeting. We recently carried out a very large project in Oijen on behalf of the Aa and Maas Water Board. Here we renovated the concrete duct of a gravity sewer over a length of 3.5 kilometers with GRP sheeting. The duct, 240 cm wide and 165 cm high, was first cleaned, blasted clean, the concrete repaired where necessary and then fitted with a GRP duct. The water board was completely relieved of this, because we also provided the TPI installation, for example."

Relining of potable water mains

Water supply company PWN knocked on GW Leidingtechniek BV's door for a sustainable renovation of an existing drinking water pipeline around 800 mm in Hoofddorp. "The drinking water pipeline consists of asbestos cement and steel, runs right through a residential area and has some defects there," Harm outlines the situation. "As one of the few companies in the Netherlands we are certified to reline drinking water pipes. To avoid inconvenience as much as possible, we make a construction pit on both sides of the residential area. We then cut out a piece of pipe and carry out our work from these two head holes. First we inspect the pipe, then it is cleaned and dried, and then we pull a drinking water sleeve into it. With this technique, we manage to extend the life of the existing pipe considerably. All in all, the entire exercise takes only 2.5 weeks."

In this way, GW Leidingtechniek BV's techniques contribute to achieving clients' sustainability goals. "Furthermore, we will of course continue to invest ourselves in converting to emission-free equipment. In this way, we are also doing our own bit for the sustainable task," Harm concludes.