Water treatment in large urban communities is an ongoing concern for utility operators, administrators and citizens. Water clarifiers play an important role in water treatment cycles by removing heavier sludge and solids from raw untreated water. Due to population growth, a community in Saskatchewan completed a water clarifier refurbishment project and brought an old piece of infrastructure back online.
Repairing leaks in old cracked concrete
This concrete water clarifier developed flaws and defects over years of use. Cold joints in the concrete had started to leak and large cracks were allowing significant amounts of ground water to infiltrate into the clarifier body. Honeycombing in the concrete was beginning to appear and that added to the leaking problems. Before this clarifier could be used again these leaks had to be stopped.
The city needed a durable leak-sealing solution that would stand up to the demands of daily water production. New Shield Restorations, a Martech partner contractor, was contracted to solve this problem. The contractor was very experienced in using polyurethane resins and had no reservations taking on this large undertaking. New Shield Restorations relied on Prime Flex 900 XLV by Prime Resins to solve all the leak issues.
Leak-sealing solution: Prime Flex 900 XLV chemical grout
Prime Flex 900 XLV is an environmentally friendly polyurethane resin that bonds with concrete to form a tough, flexible, watertight seal. It is safe for drinking water (meets the NSF 61 standard) and is the best injection product for sealing leaks. Prime Flex 900 XLV is a “hydrophilic” resin – it chases water as it reacts. The resin gets into the smallest cracks where water is leaking then reacts with the water and expands to seal the leak permanently.
Using one touch packers and high pressure mechanical injection ports, the New Shield team injected the Prime Flex 900 XLV resin into active leaking cracks, cold joints and honeycombed concrete voids. This refurbished concrete clarifier structure was quite large, approximately 100′ x 100′ x 25′ deep. After a week of carefully sealing all leaks, the project was finished and the clarifier was ready to be brought back into production.
Are you a UTILITIES OPERATOR with leaking concrete infrastructure?
Are you a CONCRETE REPAIR CONTRACTOR searching for better leak repair solutions?
To learn how to use chemical grouts to stop leaks and seal all manner of concrete infrastructure (water channels, manholes, storage tanks, anywhere water is leaking through concrete) contact us to request more information from Martech’s Municipal Infrastructure team.