The process – known as ‘ice pigging’ – involves pumping a salty slush-type consistency through the network, forming a gentle but abrasive mixture that cleans the inside walls of the pipe as it moves along.
It was trialled by the pumping stations team from the Infrastructure Department – alongside the SUEZ Group – and has seen sewage flow improve by up to 140%.
Damian Bouchet, pumping station manager, said: ‘While ice pigging is not a new concept, it is a new cleaning process that the IHE department in Jersey has been testing. I am really impressed with it. The ice simply adjusts to the size of the pipe, effortlessly taking the sharpest of bends whilst absorbing any debris.
‘This will save us money in the long run, as previous cleaning methods, such as water jets or scraping tools, can become jammed or wear down the pipe wall thickness, which is expensive to repair.’
Additionally, pipes that were previously too narrow to be cleaned were able to undergo the process.
‘With the sewage network running better and pumping at almost full capacity, we won’t need to dig up pipes that may have otherwise needed repairing, and our electricity bill will reduce.’
