Collapse of an 8-ft Diameter Brick Sewer in Leeds, England

This paper describes the collapse and subsequent renovation and reconstruction of an 8ft diameter brick barrel sewer. The size and depth of the sewer, typically 10.0m to invert, together with unusual ground conditions, presented a number of challenges which were resolved by creative thinking and innovative solutions. A temporary pumping station, approximately 12m deep with a capacity of 4.5m³/sec was constructed and fully operational within three weeks. Downstream of the collapse, pipejacking techniques were used to renovate 63m of sewer utilising GRP pipes. Upstream of the failure, the sewer was at risk of imminent collapse and was replaced with 2.4m diameter reinforced concrete pipes laid in a special reinforced concrete cradle. A further 1.0km of the sewer was surveyed and the "LightLine" technique was used to measure the deformations and determine the maximum size of liner that could be inserted.