Pipelines are ever-present in our municipal systems and serve a wide array of critical purposes that make them instrumental… however they’re not always laid in opportune ways and frequently, pipeline function can pave the way for issues and errors that do just as much harm as the pipeline does good.
Case in point, where pipelines let out and deposit their contents, improper dissemination may occur. A water runoff pipe, for example, might spill thousands of gallons of water out to a reservoir location… however if that area is already flooded or under duress, the addition of more runoff could prove to be costly, inciting everything from erosion to extensive saturation and soil damage.
The solution to issues like this is something called pipeline projection, and it’s generally solved via installations that offer better dissemination of runoff. Cable concrete mats are an obvious choice for the job and prove to be a lasting solution that will stand up to a great deal of instances where runoff may begin to pose trouble for certain areas.
Projection and diversion
The concept is simple: cable concrete is laid to provide yet another pathway for runoff, allowing it to disseminate over a larger area at a quicker pace, to a lower degree of overall saturation. Let’s take a diversion channel, for example:
A diversion channel lets out into a runoff field. The pipe ends abruptly and any runoff that’s being diverted to the field quickly jettisons out of the pipe to saturate the nearby soil. After a particularly heavy rain, however, the runoff area is flooded, with more diverted water still coming down the pipe. Flooding ensues, backups occur and a very messy situation is had by all.
As a solution, cable concrete is laid in strips encompassing roughly 600 feet of path after the end of the diversion channel, which will serve to slowly distribute deposited water across the length of that area thanks to a slight grade in the land. The next time a heavy rain occurs, runoff is diverted accordingly, to prevent saturation, backflow and just about any other problem that previously arose.
The actual application isn’t always cut and dry, but the principle of projection is simple: dissemination in a way that prevents saturation.
Cable concrete laid right
Aside from being a premier option based on its longstanding ability to project pipeline runoff, cable concrete mats also offer a reclamation aspect that makes them inherently a top option. Open cell concrete can support vegetation growth, which, over time, allows the installation to grow over into a natural-looking solution to projection. The concrete still exists to prevent erosion and flooding, but the newly grown and properly anchored vegetation hides it.
Pipeline projection is a critical finality that must be considered where any diversion channel or culvert is considered, to protect the area from the dangers of excess runoff. Without projection in place and a plan to prevent runoff damage, erosion is likely to occur unabated and issues with the pipeline itself are sure to follow.