Surveying on steep slopes

In the fall of 2021, Brownline Canada surveyed an HDD for a new wastewater discharge plastic pipeline section that ties in with an existing pipeline to the treatment plant and the outfall culvert into McLeod River for the Town of Edson, Alberta. Pidherney’s Inc. commissioned this 241-meter drill job.

The grounds for this project were ongoing issues with blockages in the old pipeline. The goal is to replace the out of order section of this outflow pipeline, which is part of the treated wastewater pipeline network between the Edson water treatment plant and McLeod River. As an emergency fix, an aboveground treated water outfall line was connected via a manhole to the normal point of discharge in McLeod River. The main reason for this temporary aboveground fix is that the steep river slope provided a big engineering challenge for a permanent fix.

Brownline and Pidherney’s were called into action for this project due to the expertise required for these types of challenging projects. The 241-meter, steep uphill bore started at the base of a slope and crossed a road. Towards the exit side, the trajectory ran parallel to an existing sewer main line. Drilling was executed with a mud motor as the ground formation included layers of sandstone and clay shale. The Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool performed flawlessly and provided excellent accuracy. Through close monitoring of the annular pressure, any inadvertent returns that could cause were avoided. The project was completed safely and on time and to the satisfaction of the customer.

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