Have you noticed the work that has been going on along Pardee Road in the Clydesdale fields at Grants Farm?
My friend Mark W (who works at Grants Farm) explained to me today that Metro St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is working on the sewer line that runs along Pardee / Grant Road. They will be installing a new liner inside the existing sewer lines, so they will need to pump the sewage through a temporary pipe (which is that black pipe laying on the ground). The entire project will take several months to complete.
Interesting fact - that temporary plastic black pipe is reusable... It was delivered in sections on a truck and the ends were heated up and fused together, creating a single plastic pipe hundreds of feet long. When the project is complete, it will be cut back into sections, loaded on a truck, and taken to another similar project site.
Repairs to the existing pipe are completed by lining the existing sewer with a new liner that works just as well as a brand new pipe. Crews begin by inserting a resin liner into an existing sewer pipe through the nearest manhole. Hot air or water is injected into the liner, which activates the resin. The resin cures immediately transforms the liner into solid plastic material, coating the entire pipe. This liner acts as a “new” wall for the pipe and allows flow to quickly return to the repaired pipe, without costly individual repairs to underground pipes.
More info on this process is available on MSD's website (Project Clear).