Earthquake Proof Flushing
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social
Small Plastic Valve Invented in Japan Could Keep Porirua's Residents Flushing After a Major Earthquake
The $400 valves are being installed in manholes in parts of the city that could suffer liquefaction in a large earthquake. If any part of the wastewater network is out, the whole system comes down.
Four valves are put into the sides of the manholes - in a large earthquake the lid on the valves pops off, relieving the pressure and letting water in, which stops the pressure building up and "floating" up above the surface, putting them out of action.
The valves are being installed at 140 locations in the Porirua CBD and Titahi Bay, costing about $3000 per manhole. It can cost about $12,000 to fix a manhole once it has popped up.
Japanese engineering corporation Nippon Hume invented the technology and 30,000 manholes around Tokyo are now fitted with the valves. None of them popped out in the 7.3 earthquake in 2012.
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