Efficient pipe renewal for holiday village with GRUNDOBURST 400G
In Mielinghausen in the Sauerland region, a key water main serving thLake Henne holiday village and the surrounding villages of Enkhausen, Immenhausen and Erflinghausen was replaced. The main also supplies a local elevated water tank and operates at a pressure of around 11 bar. Due to numerous leaks and damage that had already occurred on several occasions, urgent action was required. The bonded joints of the existing PVC pipe were particularly affected, leaking at regular intervals.
As the route runs through a sensitive leisure and recreation area at Hennesee, minimising disruption to the surrounding environment played a key role alongside the technical implementation. An open-cut construction method would not only have required extensive asphalt works but would also have incurred significantly higher costs, at around 400 to 500 euros per metre. The pipe bursting method used, by contrast, cost only around 30 per cent of this. That is why TRACTO's customer, contractor WATEGRA, opted for trenchless pipe renewal using the static pipe bursting method with the GRUNDOBURST 400G.
With the static bursting method, the existing old pipe is burst open and a new pipe is pulled in at the same time; in this case, a pipe with a larger diameter was used to increase the pipe’s capacity in one go. In this way, the pipe is renewed within the existing route without having to dig everything up – a decisive advantage in sensitive areas and where complex surface conditions, such as thick asphalt layers, are present. The GRUNDOBURST 400G used is particularly suitable for the efficient renewal of pipes in challenging infrastructure. Thanks to its high static pulling force, even pipes made of different materials can be dealt with efficiently.
Despite rocky ground and a slightly curved route, the new HDPE pipe was installed efficiently. The construction process demonstrated the capabilities of trenchless technology: the insertion of the rod began as early as 08:00, the pulling-in of the new pipe started at 10:00, and by around 12:00 the section had been successfully completed. The project illustrates how modern trenchless technologies can be used today in a cost-effective, time-saving and resource-efficient manner, even under challenging conditions.
KEY FACTS
- Mielinghausen at Lake Henne / Germany, 2026
- Project: Trenchless replacement of a severly damaged water mains
- Application: Pipe renewal, water
- Method: Static pipe bursting
- In use: GRUNDOBURST 400G
