We told you recently that the City of Moose Jaw will be working on over 2,000 metres of pipe during Phase 4 of cast iron water main replacement, but what the City also mentioned is they will be introducing a brand new pilot project during this time. 

Along two stretches of road, City crews and contractors will be working with a new lining material that offers another level of structural support according to Bevan Harlton, Manager of Engineering. 

"You scrub out whatever is left on the inside of that pipe and then you push in a lining material," explained Harlton. "It becomes almost structural in a sense in that it will convey the water to the point even if that old cast iron pipe crumbles

around it."

There are various reasons as to why they would choose this new route as opposed to replacing the pipe completely - one of which is the well known fact that Moose Jaw is filled with narrow roads. 

"There's a lot of water mains in Moose Jaw that run in back alleys or on small residential streets with a lot of overhead obstacles. The best fit solution is a replacement, but a lot of times in these locations with narrow, confined spaces or with a real high-dense set of overhead obstacles it's just more feasible and cost effective to go with the water lining," said Harlton.

It's still undetermined if this type of repair will save money or time, but what Harlton could confirm was that it has significantly less of an impact on the ground and roadway.

"In terms of ground disturbance, because we're not actually ripping out the whole roadway to put this material in, there's less with the water main lining. You're digging holes at either end, similar to HD drilling or pipe boring."

Harlton also noted that he believes Moose Jaw will soon begin to see the benefits of the cast iron replacement program, noting that crews will be reacting to breaks less frequently.