This document is the Sanitary Emergency Repair Case Study. In New York, an emergency repair of a sinkhole is discussed.

In the Town of Grand Island, a sinkhole developed under Whitehaven Road, a main east-west street, due to the failure of a 35-year-old, 30” (750 mm) asbestos cement pipe. The failure occurred due to hydrogen sulfide gas, a naturally occurring result of decomposing sewage present in all sanitary sewers.

The project became an emergency repair to stop effluent from flowing into the Niagara River and eventually going over Niagara Falls, which prevented a possible potential environmental disaster.

SaniTite HP, manufactured from polypropylene, was chosen as it is inert to the effects of hydrogen sulfide and makes SaniTite HP a recommended choice to replace deteriorating infrastructure. SaniTite HP is a triple-wall design with smooth inner and outer walls to provide pipe stiffness, which was required as the pipe was buried 22’-24’ (6.7-7.3 m) deep. SaniTite HP was also chosen because its 20’ (6 m) length made it quick and easy to install on the emergency repair.

The installation was done in August 2013 using 650’ (198 m) of 30” (750 mm) SaniTite® HP pipe.

Photographs of the project are included.