Pipe keeps waste in check

THE leaking of human waste into Kangaroo Bay is hopefully a problem of the past with the installation of a new underwater sewage pipeline.

The TasWater link being installed by Hazell Brothers connects the main sewer line serving Bellerive and Howrah to the Rosny Point Sewage Treatment Plant.

The new pipe will replace a under sea, concrete-lined steel pipe constructed in the 1960s, which will largely remain in place as it has become part of the local marine eco system.

In February, TasWater brought forward the planned replacement of the old pipe, making it a project of top priority following several breaks which allowed effluent to enter Kangaroo Bay.

The 350m-long pipe has been built out of high-density polyethylene, with each 12m length of plastic welded together and connected to 81 equi-spaced concrete blocks, which will anchor the new pipe to the seabed of Kangaroo Bay.

The pipe was built at a waterfront facility at Margate.

Buoyed by flotation pipes connected alongside the main pipe, it was positioned to link with the existing sewer pipes yesterday.

After the flotation pipes were filled with sea water, it sank and now rests on the bottom of the bay.