Groveland Begins Manhole Rehabilitation In Wastewater Improvement Project

GCSD photo

Groveland, CA – Now that the pipe work is done, crews will begin rehabilitating manholes in the Groveland area.

The work is part of the Groveland Community Services District’s (GCSD) $5.8 million Wastewater Collection System Improvement Project, as earlier detailed here. District officials report that this phase will have crews rehabilitating about 30 originally installed, broken-down manholes throughout the sewer collection system.

District Operations Supervisor, Andy Klein, provided these next steps in the process:

• The first step of the rehabilitation is to prep the manhole by scraping loose debris from the walls and channel, then giving it a good pressure wash. After cleaning, they grout the walls to remove any voids or roughness.

• The second is to protect the area to keep dirt out of the manhole and keep the epoxy from staining nearby surroundings. The crews then divert the flow of sewage through a smaller-diameter bypass so that the work can be completed without interference. After the epoxy is mixed, an operator goes into the manhole with a spray gun, the top is sealed with plastic, and the operator inside proceeds to spray the inside of the manhole, similar to spray painting a car or house. The epoxy takes less than 2 hours to set up.
• Finally, there is some work to ensure the transitions at the upstream and downstream connections are correct, the coating is inspected for proper coverage and thickness, and then the flow is restored. The new coating is designed to last approximately 50 years.

District officials say the benefits of the upgrades to customers are significant, adding, “They include a reduction of odor production, an improved operating efficiency and cleaning capabilities, a reduction of potential sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) and associated state fines, and a greatly reduced cost to customers to complete the project with 75% grant funding.”