What would the perfect street gully look like?
Wavin introduces…. the new European Road Gully
Our cities are facing some serious challenges. In 2050, more than 70% of the people in Europe will be living in cities. We will be facing 30% heavier rainfall due to climate change. City’s ageing sewer infrastructure is typically unable to cope with these challenges. These are the issues that the municipalities and water works are facing. Future-proofing strategies are critical for dealing with the global boom in urban populations. Wavin decided to tackle some of the challenges head-on – starting with the new European Road Gully.
The Challenge
Some gullies cannot drain the rainwater away fast enough and will therefore bubble up and/or overflow into the street – resulting in standing water. Blocked gullies create unsafe road conditions and unblocking or repairing these gullies is costly and inconvenient (roadworks disrupt traffic).
What would the perfect street gully look like?
Wavin asked this question to sewerage policy and maintenance employees from municipalities, sewer maintenance companies and contractors. “The result is a new type of street gully with excellent performance, which offers various advantages for all stakeholders,” says Arjen van der Ziel, product manager Stormwater at Wavin Nederland. On behalf of the entire development team, Arjen puts the new gully in the spotlight.
The solution
The solution to this problem is the development of a gully that is reliable so as to ensure its longevity – a gully that is easy to install and maintain and has better hydraulic performance. And with the municipalities’ most pressing issues in mind, Wavin introduced the new Wavin Road Gully – one in which the installation can be done two (2) times faster and with only one person (without the use of lifting equipment).
Low cost and reliable – important for most municipalities
The new Wavin road gully European range takes into account standards and needs from each country. This resulted in the development of a whole Wavin street gully family for a large part of the European market – meeting country specific wishes concerning installation and cleaning convenience.
Although low installation and maintenance costs are important considerations for most municipalities, the reliability and problem-free long-term functioning of a sewer system are at the top of their list. And, ultimately, this also saves on costs. Just think of the high costs that can arise if the rainwater can not be drained, such as an inaccessible infrastructure or water damage in buildings or homes. It is a fact that we are increasingly faced with heavy rain showers and the risk of flooding increases. That is why it is important that the drainage facilities can process rainwater without significant problems.
How does the new chamber contribute to this?
Usually the gully cover or grating is the first component of the system that ‘meets’ the rainwater runoff. The grating fulfills two important roles, namely that of ‘gateway’ to, and that of ‘gatekeeper’ of the underlying system. The rainwater carries a lot of dirt, such as sand, leaves and street waste, to the grating. The new gully is equipped with a large sand trap and a cleverly designed self-cleaning filter, so that the chamber traps a lot of dirt and continues to drain water optimally. In this way the quality and functionality of the drainage or infiltration system is guaranteed.
The conical shape of the filter and the high position in the chamber ensure, in combination with gravity, that the wet material, such as leaves, falls from the filter into the chamber after a rain shower. The filter therefore cleans itself and is clean again in order to function optimally in a subsequent shower. Furthermore, it is a 360 degree filter – a large filter surface, so the chance of blockages is zero and the water can always find its way to the sewer. And because of the position at the top of the chamber, the filter will also not come into contact with the sludge in the sand trap, so that the filter capacity is fully utilized.
Street gullies are normally cleaned twice a year. And this has to be done quickly, because as many gasses as possible must be cleaned per day. Because of the bowl-shaped bottom in our chamber, the sludge and dirt are centered and the dirt does not have a chance to remain in corners. The cleaning can therefore be done very effectively and efficiently. The position of the water trap and the filter also ensure an open passage, as a result of which the cleaning equipment does not encounter any obstacles in the chamber.
A big advantage of plastic is of course that it is much lighter than concrete. This means that one person can install the chamber without the use of hoisting equipment and this saves time and costs. Circularity is intrinsic to the road gully design
The design and development of the new European road gully is part of Wavin’s innovative Spotlight platform, an initiative to promote ‘out of the box’ thinking around the connected challenges posed by flood waters, climate change and urban development. To that end, the gully is made from post-consumer materials (recycled polypropylene) from the automotive industry – the qualitative equivalent of virgin materials (non-recycled), with consistent and reliable high quality. Most importantly, the new gully has been created with circularity and sustainability in mind. Its materials contribute substantially to the protection of the environment.
Keeping an eye to the future… always
Everything Wavin designs and develops is with the future in mind. And the new European road gully is proof positive of this.
To learn more about Wavin’s Spotlight campaign, go to https://www.wavin.com/en-en/spotlight