Maintenance crews turn attention to Dumfries sewer system

DUMFRIES, Va. — Residents of the Williamstown neighborhood in Dumfries should expect to see maintenance work being performed on the sewer system.

Prince William County Service Authority press release: 

Expected to take approximately nine weeks to finish, the project entails lining sewer mains with Cured-In-Place-Pipe. The lining process is done in lieu of replacing the pipe itself, which is often a much more costly and disruptive measure for both customers and the utility.

Once completed, the resin-like substance used in the CIPP process hardens and essentially becomes a new pipe inside the existing sewer main. This protects the main from tree root intrusion and corrosion that can occur over long periods of time. CIPP also prevents groundwater infiltration into the sanitary sewer system during rain events, which helps reduce the amount of flow to the wastewater treatment plant.

The average sewer pipe lasts about 40 years, while CIPP can extend that lifespan to 90 years.

Each year, the Service Authority inspects more than a hundred miles of sewer line to determine where CIPP would be most effective. The Service Authority’s goal is to line eight miles worth of sewer main by June 30, 2017.