Who Can Fix Manhole Inflow And Infiltration Issues in Pennsylvania? ART can!

The Smithfield Sewer Authority was first introduced to OBIC Products through a Lunch and Learn demonstration hosted by Rusty Hesselschwardt from Advanced Rehabilitation Technology (ART). ART is OBIC’s flagship installer and leader in no-dig rehabilitation services.

Benjamin Kutz, a professional engineer for the Smithfield Sewer Authority, was impressed by the demonstration and recommend that ART be hired to rehabilitate nine manholes in Smithfield Township, located in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

The manholes were located on Business Route 209 and Craigs Meadow Road. Both heavily traveled roads. To excavate and replace the manholes would not only have been costly, but it would also have created substantial traffic headaches for the duration of the project. Rather than taking on this massive replacement, the sewer authority chose to rehabilitate the manholes using OBIC’s lining system. This decision reduced the cost and minimized traffic disturbance while significantly extending the life of the structures.

The Challenge

Eight out of the nine manholes included in this project had severe corrosion to the concrete walls. Groundwater infiltration was occurring at pipe connections and joints in several of the manholes, and at least two had severe groundwater infiltration.

To address these issues, the crew had to remove all of the damaged concrete from the walls of the manholes before they could even begin preparing the surface for the OBIC Armor lining system. After further evaluation, it was also discovered that a few severe sources of groundwater infiltration had to be repaired with urethane grout and hydraulic cement.

If that was not enough of a challenge for the OBIC installation team, all of this was made even more difficult by heavy rains that fell throughout the duration of the project.

The Outcome

In spite of the challenges and setbacks encountered during the manhole rehabilitation project for the Smithfield Sewer Authority, the OBIC installation team exceeded expectations. When asked to describe her experience with ART, Terri Timko, assistant secretary at Smithfield Sewer Authority simply said, “Excellent! Michael Currie and the installation team were great to work with, and we will contact them again for future manhole rehabilitation.”

Life Expectancy

Prior to being lined with the OBIC Armor lining system, eight of the nine manholes were destined for failure. The OBIC lining system has provided the manholes with structural support, corrosion resistance and eliminated the sources of infiltration for decades. The structures are now estimated to last a minimum of 50 years or longer.