Aiwell Water increases drainage capacity to prevent urban flooding

Climate change is leading to heavier rainfall and flooding worldwide. In urban areas, stormwater flows more quickly on pavement, increasing surface runoff that may overwhelm a city’s drainage capacity. To address this problem, cities must normally dig up existing pipes and lay new, larger ones, or install detention basins.

These solutions, however, are expensive, time-consuming and inconvenient. Other conventional solutions may cause environmental harm.

Aiwell Water delivers a siphonic drain system based on its 60 years of expertise in full flow roof runoff.

In this system, when city drainage pipes reach their overflow limits, a non-electric valve converts water flow from gravity-based to an airless siphonic drain. By utilising the pipes’ full capacity, the system is able to drain up to 40 per cent more water on flat terrain. As the slope increases, total capacity may increase up to 200 per cent or more.

Economical to install, the system is fully mechanical with no need for external power. It can easily be installed in existing drainage infrastructure, recycling pipes that already lay under ground. This saves time, money and disruption to the area by eliminating the need to dig up city streets and lay new pipes.

The system can be used in new construction as well. In this case, city streets can serve as a floodway in emergencies, preventing damage to basements and other structures.

Aiwell Water has proven the success of its system in Solveien, Norway, a city with drainage problems related to flat terrain. Here officials sought to increase the city’s drainage capacity by 35 per cent without excavating any water and sewage pipes. In addition to increased capacity, the city also achieved cost savings of 65 per cent compared with traditional excavation and new pipes.

Aiwell Water designed a solution in which the city’s drainage system could switch between conventional gravity drainage and siphonic drainage as needed during rainfall. With siphonic technology, flat terrain has no impact on drainage. As a result, the new system doubled the city’s capacity to drain stormwater without digging up city streets.

Moreover, the pipes are self-cleaning due to the nature of siphonic drain technology.

The costs associated with flooding will increase in Europe from some USD 5.6 billion to roughly USD 29 billion by 2050. Therefore, the market for this solution exists in all urban areas where flooding may occur.

Aiwell Water’s technology is patented in the US and the EU. The company is currently seeking customers and engineers to take part in further developing the solution. The goal is to incorporate partners that will help to bring this cost-effective, environmentally sound system to an international market.

Aiwell Water also envisions uses beyond increasing the capacity of existing stormwater networks, such as separation of wastewater and surface water in a joint system which will provide significant environmental benefits in addition to cost savings.