FORMADRAIN TACKLES TOUGH, COMPLEX PIPE REHABILITATION JOB AT MAJOR QUEBEC HOSPITAL

Maria Hospital, part of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Gaspésie, is located in the coastal town of Maria, which is part of the Baie-des-Chaleurs region of Gaspésie.

The healthcare facility faced a critical infrastructure challenge. The hospital’s kitchen drainage system, vital for its 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. operations, was deteriorating rapidly—to the point of it becoming unusable. A patch job was initially carried out through excavation to connect an additional grease trap; however, when trying to reconnect the new pipe to the old pipe, the old pipe continued to crumble. A temporary fix was used, inserting a smaller pipe into the old pipe to solidify it, and then a mechanical clip was installed to hold the pipes together.

FORMADRAIN’s team was called upon to assess the problem, quickly find a solution without disrupting the hospital’s indispensable kitchen operations, and ensure no downtimes.

The challenge

During the team’s first visit, the crew passed a camera via a clean out to the excavation point and all the way to the Y. While attempting to clean the piping, our experts noticed that the drainage system under the hospital’s kitchen slab was in a state of advanced decay and filled with both grease and debris.

What’s more: The cast iron pipes, especially one major section that was connected to multiple sinks and the kitchen drains, crumbled to the touch, signaling the need for an urgent intervention.

The solution

FORMADRAIN deployed a careful approach to address the issue. Using our Formapox 301 industrial resin for extreme conditions, the team built five liners for a total of 140 feet on site with surgically precise measurements to effectively gap the transitions and connections. A new clean out was added, and the team performed the insertions over the span of three nights in 12-hour shifts.

What made the work so challenging was that the pipe rehabilitation took place in January under harsh winter conditions, with temperatures dropping to -12°C accompanied by strong winds and a major storm that led to an evacuation advisory in Maria. The adverse weather also caused water damage and the closure of the main road, adding to the logistical complexities, including storage space and heating requirements.

Despite the challenging conditions and the pressure of working within tight time constraints, FORMADRAIN’s experts successfully reinforced the hospital’s kitchen drainage system. The use of no-dig technology minimized disruptions, and the new liners provided a robust solution that revitalized the existing infrastructure without the need for a completely and highly expensive replacement.

This project clearly demonstrated that our no-dig approach to underground pipe system repairs can be leveraged even in the most demanding situations.

Interested in learning more about our CIPP solutions? You could become a licensed FORMADRAIN installer and take on jobs like the one in Maria. Contact us today for more information!