U.S. EPA Publishes Landmark Benchmark Report Comparing CCTV to Electro Scanning
SACRAMENTO, Calif., August 15, 2011 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a landmark benchmark comparison of CCTV v. Electro Scanning showing that the electro scan process found more than twice as many leaks in sanitary sewer mains, than CCTV. Hosted by the Kansas City, MO Water Services Department, the study was part of a comprehensive field demonstration that compared inspection results using CCTV, electro-scanning, zoom camera, digital scanning, laser profiling and sonar. Electro scan was proven to be the most reliable method for detecting leaks.
Part of a multi-year study, this EPA study was conducted by the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Water Supply and Water Resources Division.
Widely-acknowledged as the primary source of inflow & infiltration, the connection of service laterals to sewer mains has never been more important to assessing the condition of a sewer system. In the past, utilities would oftentimes use air or water to pressure test a pipe. Able to ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ a service lateral, the use of pressure testing has been found unable to indicate specific leak locations or their severity to recommend to property owners how to fix the problem. Given the inability of CCTV cameras to visually detect leaks at joints or service connections, especially those located below a water line, electro scanning represents a breakthrough in pipe condition assessment that solves a long-standing industry problem.
In the United States, there are over 700,000 miles of service connections and laterals, with ownership shared between utility and homeowner, separated at a property line, while in England and Wales, the ownership of all private sewers and laterals were transferred to private water companies on October 1st, 2011. “Electro Scan will change how utilities and contractors evaluate sewers,” stated Chuck Hansen. “Although the world’s leading utilities have inventoried and mapped a vast majority of their sewer mains and laterals, utilities still require reliable information on the condition of their sewers for capital improvement decision making. Electro Scan is well positioned to become the cornerstone of any utility’s condition assessment program. More importantly, utilities should consider using electro scan on all pipe lining projects, before accepting a contractor’s project.