A 4,000 m pipeline will supply water to more than 20 Andalusian locations
December 10, 2009
With the logical dream of 8 in the morning, a group of intrepid journalists depart from Madrid's Atocha train station to the still warm Andalusian lands. Saint Gobain PAM Spain invited US to a press trip to present the State of the project of water supply works from 'The Retortillo' until the ETAP of Ecija. The project, despite such bombastic name, aims to put an end to the problems of water supply in 20 Andalusian locations. To do this you are installing a pipe between the reservoir known as 'El Retortillo' until the purification plant, which will send water to cities like Ecija or Morón de la Frontera and saciará industry needs (and thirst) of more than 200,000 people.
Once arrived in Córdoba and accompanied by José Luis Solana, director sales and marketing of Saint-Gobain PAM Spain; Félix Saucedo, technical director of CDC; José Pereira, Director of sales for Eastern Andalusia and Gema Rams, responsible for marketing and information systems of market, journalists enjoy a placid bus ride to work. During the journey, we could see Medīnat Al - Zahra and the winding Tower of Almodóvar del Río, two sites worth seeing, even if it is in the distance.
After an unexpected stop, journalists and leaders of the visit came to the section of the works are placed where every day the tubes of the pipe. There, members of the promoting company (Egmasa), awarded (UTE El Retortillo) and the owner of the work (Consortium of waters of the Plan Écija) explained the characteristics of the work and those of the pipe. For this project, whose layout of pipeline crosses the river Guadalquivir, responsible for its implementation have been selected the range Standard K9 DN 1200 mm pipe to ensure maximum safety in the transport of water along the entire route.
How to join with the desire to drink water
The pipes are manufactured in France by centrifugation and measuring 8.2 metres in length each, with a diameter DN 1200 mm and a nominal thickness of 15.3 mm. They are also parts with an inner lining of blast furnace, applied by means of vibro-centrifugation cement mortar. The exterior of these tubes consists of 200 GSM3 of metallic zinc with a layer of black bituminous paint 70µm finish. On the other hand, the accessories that come with the Saint-Gobain PAM Spain pipe are of both interior and exterior of lacquer black epoxy deposited by Cataphoresis with a thickness of 35 µm, after a previous process of phosphatation, being a skin entirely consistent with that applied to the tubes.
The Union between tubes, as seen in the pictures is carried out by two operators and a bulldozer, is carried out through automatic Board equipped with a ring of EPDM gasket standard. These very complicated technical features are, according to those responsible for the work, a result clear and high resistance to corrosion thanks to their active coating that works to protect the tube from external aggressions of the ground. Another of them is perfect water-tightness, with a PFA of 28 bar and, finally, a flexibility permissible operating pressure in its mounting which is the result of the boards used for the Union between tubes, which allow an angular deviation of up to 4 degrees.
The Andalusian work of larger
It is obvious that a work of this size cannot be her one entity, so the consortium of water supply and sanitation of water Plan Ecija has been commissioned it and is funded by the Andalusian water agency, the Ministry of environment (Egmasa). The splitting of the conveyance of water from the 'El Retortillo' reservoir to the purification facility (Etap) Écija aims to modernize and increase the capacity of transport of the water pipes on top of all municipalities belonging to the 'Consortium of waters of the Plan Écija' and Palma del Río.
This hydraulic work includes the installation of 4,000 metres of pipe Standard K9 and involves the expansion and replacement of the old network of pipes of reinforced concrete with sheet metal shirt for ductile iron pipes. This old network will be maintained for potential problems that may arise, as the new pipe repairs or emergency.
Note the size of the pipe, of a nominal diameter of 1,200 millimetres, which increases the capacity of water transported by it and is a great improvement in the maintenance. This will lead to big savings in transport, as the poor condition of the old network usually produced losses. To prevent these losses, those responsible for the execution of the work, the joint-venture The Retortillo (which is composed of Befesa and Codesa enterprises) have chosen, as discussed above, the pipeline of ductile cast iron in the range Standard K9 DN 1200 mm of Saint-Gobain PAM to ensure the supply of drinking water to the municipalities of the region.
The driving part from the reservoir of 'El Retortillo' of 61.2 Hm3, until the city of Écija, passing through the townships of Hornachuelos and Palma del Río (Córdoba members). A layout that has been planned to supply water to these populations by means of a single pumping station which, together with its gravitational effects, there is more power for the transfer of water.
The trip took a more placid and less technical color when Madrid journalists returned to the capital of Cordoba, which received us with a copious meal in the prestigious restaurant Bodega fields. To end the day, a visit to the mosque (somewhat long) and return the bird to return to the capital with the feeling of a job well done and the promise that the voyage of Saint-Gobain PAM Spain press will be repeated for the presentation of a new product.
About Saint-Gobain PAM Spain
Saint-Gobain PAM Spain is the subsidiary of the manufacturer of pipes of ductile cast iron systems in our country. From the technical study of the project of hydraulic infrastructure for the installation of the necessary equipment, the company offers technical solutions to "satisfy the highest demands of quality, safety and permanence in pipes to supply, irrigation, sanitation and evacuation". Its product range includes pipe, accessories, valves, parts of Assembly and speech, registers and grilles, offering both a full and quality system for the entire water cycle. More information at www.saint-gobain-pam.es.
