When Lift Station Force Mains Fail: Your Colorado Community’s CIPP Solution
Force main failures in lift station systems create some of the worst emergencies small communities can face. Unlike gravity sewer problems that develop gradually, pressurized force main breaks happen fast and cause immediate disasters. Raw sewage backs up into pump stations, triggers environmental violations, and can shut down entire wastewater systems within hours.
These emergencies hit small Colorado communities particularly hard. Emergency repairs cost tens of thousands in contractor overtime and regulatory fines. Traditional replacement projects require digging up major roads, shutting down traffic for weeks, and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars that most small towns don’t have. The choice becomes impossible – face financial ruin or continue risking environmental disasters that bring state regulators to your door.
The Problem with Aging Force Mains
This crisis isn’t unique across Colorado as communities face aging wastewater infrastructure from the 1980s and 1990s. Force mains work harder than gravity sewers because they operate under constant pressure from pumps. Every pump cycle creates pressure surges that stress joints and create micro-cracks.
Unlike gravity sewers where leaks reduce capacity, force main failures create immediate emergencies. Pressurized pipe cracks cause raw sewage to erupt or back up into pump stations, overwhelming equipment and triggering violations. Most communities built lift stations during growth periods when funding was available, but now face replacement costs exceeding annual budgets.
CIPP: The Solution That Saves Communities
Modern Engineering Solutions helped this community discover an alternative that cut their costs significantly while avoiding road closures. CIPP (Cured-in-Place Pipe) rehabilitation created new pressure-rated pipes inside their failing force mains without major excavation.
Our company’s approach worked systematically: We first coordinated the shutdown of lift stations and installation of temporary bypass pumping to maintain wastewater service. Contractors then cleaned the existing force main and inserted a resin-soaked liner rated for the system’s operating pressure. After curing with heat, this created essentially a brand new pipe inside the old one, stopping leaks and restoring full pressure capacity.
The entire project took weeks instead of months. The main highway stayed open except for small access excavations at manholes. The CIPP solution cost approximately 60% less than traditional replacement estimates. Most importantly, the new CIPP liner provides a 50-year design life, giving the community decades of reliable service.
By avoiding road closure during peak season, the community saved local businesses significant revenue losses. Municipal leadership described the solution as preventing potential financial disaster for their tourism-dependent economy.
Engineering the Right Solution
CIPP rehabilitation requires careful engineering analysis for success. Modern Engineering Solutions analyzed the community’s pump pressures, hydraulic conditions, and layout to verify CIPP compatibility. Standard pressure-rated CIPP handles operating pressures up to 150 PSI, covering most municipal applications, but verification of existing conditions is essential.
Our team calculated how reduced internal diameter would affect flow capacity. Since most force mains are conservatively sized, minor diameter reduction typically doesn’t impact performance. However, hydraulic modeling ensures adequate capacity for current and future demands.
Bypass pumping design proved critical. Our company maintained wastewater engineering service while contractors worked inside the force main, requiring portable pumps, temporary piping, and careful coordination to prevent service disruptions.
Colorado Challenges Require Specialized Expertise
Colorado’s mountain environment created unique complications. The force main crossed under a state highway with limited excavation access. Rocky soil conditions make conventional replacement expensive, often requiring blasting and specialized techniques.
High elevation changes create higher operating pressures than typical systems. Our team verified CIPP materials could handle elevated pressures while maintaining safety factors. We coordinated with state authorities for permits and met environmental requirements.
Winter weather restrictions limit construction windows, making CIPP’s speed advantage valuable. Traditional replacement requires full construction seasons, while CIPP rehabilitation completes during brief weather windows.
When Communities Need Fast, Reliable Solutions
This community represents hundreds of Colorado municipalities facing similar infrastructure challenges. Small towns cannot afford to shut down major roads for extended periods or allocate significant portions of annual budgets to single pipe replacement projects. These communities need solutions that work within constrained budgets while maintaining essential services and supporting local economies.
Modern Engineering Solutions specializes in these challenging situations – helping communities navigate force main crises with practical, cost-effective rehabilitation strategies. Our company doesn’t recommend CIPP when conditions aren’t appropriate, but when engineering analysis indicates suitability, CIPP can prevent communities from facing financial hardship while solving immediate infrastructure problems.
Our engineering team handles the complex technical analysis required for pressure system rehabilitation projects. We coordinate with state regulatory agencies for required permits, design comprehensive bypass systems to maintain uninterrupted service, and provide construction oversight to ensure installations meet all engineering and regulatory requirements. Most importantly, our company helps communities understand their infrastructure options before emergency situations develop.
Before Your Force Main Fails
The optimal time to address aging force mains is before complete failure occurs. Warning signs include frequent pump cycling, unexplained flow capacity reductions, wet areas appearing near force main routes, and increasing electricity costs from pumps working harder to maintain required pressures.
MES provides comprehensive force main condition assessments and helps communities plan cost-effective rehabilitation strategies before emergency situations develop. Video inspection, pressure testing, and flow analysis reveal developing problems while communities still have time to plan appropriate solutions and secure necessary funding.
Our company has helped numerous Colorado communities evaluate their infrastructure options and select the most suitable approaches – whether CIPP rehabilitation, partial replacement, or complete system reconstruction. Each situation presents unique challenges, but having a comprehensive plan prevents middle-of-the-night emergency calls that transform infrastructure problems into community-wide crises.
Facing force main challenges in your community?
Contact Modern Engineering Solutions at (720) 477-6565 or sales@mod-eng.com. Our Colorado wastewater engineering team helps communities solve infrastructure problems before they become emergencies, providing honest assessments about whether CIPP rehabilitation makes sense for your specific situation.