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A laser used for measuring inside a cut open waste-water pipe
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Pipes around the world
In the old days, even up until the 19th century, all of Germany’s waste water flowed into the rivers. Today, household and industrial water is led by underground channels to purification plants. Kilometres after kilometres of pipe lines have been installed over the 200 or so years it took to build the sewers,. If all the sewage piping in Germany was put together, it would rap around the world a dozen times.
Saving the pipes
The extensive drain system is getting bigger – in the state of Thüringen alone, the drainage system was increased 40 per cent in the last couple of years. But many of the pipes are age-old - approximately half of the sewers in East Germany are damaged and insufficient. Forty years of poor maintenance under the East German government has left the system in a dire straight of renewal. At least 30 per cent of the pipes in Thüringen, an old East German state, are at least 80 years old - not even the strongest pipe can live that long.
Pipe Prognosis
That is the challenge facing researchers at the Bauhaus-University in Weimar (MFPA). They first have to understand how pipes and drains are damaged. Studies show that substandard installation and pressure do more damage to the pipes than age itself. This is especially true for pipes made from concrete and stone.
The researchers then evaluate the condition of the drain system. Once they know how a pipe gets damaged and during which stage it happens, they can figure out how much longer the pipe will last. That way it is easier to determine which pipes need to be replaced before others. That way, waste water will never again flow into the rivers due to a pipe burst.
Seeping poisons
Another delicate field of research that the Weimar researchers tackle is that of old refuse dumps. Poisonous substances from the garbage seep over time into soil and contaminate the groundwater. The researchers have to make sure that doesn’t happen, and the only way to do it is with filters and they are not cheep.
Caught
Garbage dumps have been oozing poisons into the soil for years. Filters can cost up to 50 euro per square metre. So the MFPA researchers have developed economically and biologically friendly filters especially made for the older refuse sites. The optimal combination of compost filters and soil filters are used to clean the water weekly – and it only costs 5 euro per square meter. A tenth of the original costs for 100 per cent clean ground water.
Bauhaus-University in Weimar (MFPA)
Amalienstraße 13
D-99423 Weimar
Tel: +49-3643-564 0
Email: mfpa@mfpa.de
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