Improving Hydraulic Performance of a 15km Recycled Water Rising Main Using Ice Pigging Technology
| Wednesday, September 9, 2026 |
| 4:30 PM - 4:50 PM |
| McBerns Papers Room - Newcastle Racecourse |
Overview
Suez Water - Ed Petts, Operations Manager, Ice Pigging
Details
Discover how SA Water restored the capacity of a 15-kilometre recycled water rising main affected by sludge and polymer fouling. The DN250-to-DN400 pipeline crosses beneath the Princes Highway and Murray River, making excavation particularly challenging. Ice Pigging was selected as a low-risk, non-invasive solution. Over three weeks, the main was divided into 13 sections and cleaned using 10,000 litres of ice slurry daily, inserted through existing valves. Captured material was removed by waste tankers. Post-cleaning data confirmed a 35% flow increase, restoration of full design capacity and a 35 kPa reduction in pump discharge pressure, significantly reducing system head loss.
Speaker
Ed Petts
Operations Manager - Ice Pigging
Suez Water
Improving Hydraulic Performance of a 15km Recycled Water Rising Main Using Ice Pigging Technology
4:30 PM - 4:50 PMBiography
Ed Petts has been a water industry professional his entire career. As a Project Engineer, Ed was part of the team that first established Ice Pigging within Australia in 2013, moving from UK to Melbourne during the process. Since, Ed has managed brownfield construction projects at the Prospect Water Filtration Plant in Sydney (the largest water filtration plant in Australia) and returned to Ice Pigging in 2024 becoming the Operations Manager (Ice Pigging) for SUEZ in Australia and New Zealand.
