The brief
Affinity Water called us in under their repair and maintenance framework to an escalating leak on a 15 inch overground water main at Palace Way, Woking. The main was in swamp ground, live, and feeding customers downstream. The leak was getting worse, and a straight repair would have meant shutting a supply zone down and hitting a lot of properties.
Our approach
We installed a double 15 inch line stop, one either side of the burst. That isolated the damaged section without shutting the main. With the isolated section depressurised, the repair was made. Both line stops were then removed and the main brought back to normal supply.
The technique itself is straightforward when ground conditions cooperate. They didn’t here. Working in swamp means unstable access, water management on top of pipework, and a working day that shrinks as the ground and weather work against you. See the line stopping capability page for how the technique works in general.
- Main diameter
- 15 inch
- Main type
- Overground
- Technique
- Double line stop
- Ground conditions
- Swamp
- Client framework
- Affinity Water R&M
Outcome
Delivered within Affinity Water’s framework KPI. Customer impact was significant given the scale of the main and the ground conditions, but the job hit its target turnaround, and the main returned to normal supply on completion. For the broader service context, see our water mains repair and maintenance work for water companies.
