Scottish Water calls in high-pressure hoses as fight against frozen mains goes on

Published on Saturday 8 January 2011 16:49

HIGH-PRESSURE water hoses are being used to defrost frozen pipes as experts battle to cope with the worst problems for decades.

Scottish Water has joined forces with an industrial cleaning firm to test out a new technique to help thaw pipes in Perthshire, where some householders have been without running water for weeks.

The method was trialed last week in Blair Atholl, one of the worst-affected areas, using a lance a high-pressure hot water.

The Stirling-based firm Kitchen Perfect specialises in deep cleaning of ventilation systems and commercial kitchens using equipment which produces sustained high-pressure water at temperatures of up to 150C.

Mark Mackenzie, project manager at Scottish Water, said: "I've been extremely impressed with the speed and efficiency of this system for breaking up the ice.

"We'll definitely be looking at refining the system and using it more widely."

Dozens of homes in Blair Atholl have been affected after the individual service pipes between Scottish Water's mains and each property became frozen solid. Engineers said uncovering the frozen pipes had been akin to "digging through concrete". In some instances jackhammers had to be used.

However the new technique is said to "dramatically reduce" the amount of street digging required.

The affected pipes in Blair Atholl were up to 70 foot long, and their entire length had to be excavated.

However the new system allowed the crews to dig just one access trench, then cut a hole in the frozen pipe.

From there, the steam delivery hose was inserted and was able to reach 70 foot in either direction. In one case, a 66 foot stretch of pipe was completely thawed in just 45 minutes, when previously it was taking several days.

Duncan Sibbald, managing director of Kitchen Perfect, said: "I have been personally leading our involvement with Scottish Water and have been delighted with the results and how well the modifications have worked.

"We hope there will be a future use for this and are ready to work anywhere in Scotland."