14 May EUROFLO® Simplifies Culvert Replacement
EUROFLO® SIMPLIFIES CULVERT REPLACEMENT IN STREAM FOR SOUTH OTAGO FARMER
Replacing a steel pipe in a stream on his 750ha sheep and beef farm at Toko Mouth, south of Dunedin, could have been a massive undertaking for farmer Simon Davies but EUROFLO pipe simplified the job and reduced costs.
“We replaced an old culvert in a stream called Rocky Creek. I was replacing an old steel pipe – possibly a fuel tank that had been converted to a pipe – which was approximately 1.8m diameter and about 3.6m long. This stream always flows and in flood it can be 20 to 30 times normal flow.”
The project was prompted by Simon’s concerns over the structural integrity of the existing pipe and concerns for the health and safety of people and stock on the farm. One end of the old culvert had corroded leaving a very narrow crossing that could only be cautiously crossed with an ATV.
“We chose EUROFLO for a few different reasons. The cost was lower for the EUROFLO 1950mm culvert pipe than it was for the equivalent-sized pipes in concrete and it was also a single pipe, instead of the multiple pipes I would have needed, which made it easier to install.”
The South Otago farmer says weight was another important factor. If he had selected concrete pipes, each of three pipes he needed was going to weigh in at two ton and would have required a large digger to lift them into place.
“For installation we diverted the creek, blocked the stream bed above and below the site, and pumped water out of the stream so we could work in a dry bed. We placed about a foot of ungraded gravel into the bed and then laid the pipe onto this gravel before slowly and evenly putting gravel on either side of pipe, making sure the pipe did not shift with weight of gravel. We compacted it with a [vibrating plate].”
“When gravel was about halfway up sides of pipe we drove 18 inch diameter poles vertically into the stream bed at each end of the pipe to stop water erosion removing fill from around the pipe. Once the poles were in place we poured more gravel, filling each side to about level before compacting. Finally we put about 1m of soil and gravel over the top of the pipe before compacting it. All up we used approximately 16-20m of unscreened gravel.”
Simon is confident in the project he’s completed using EUROFLO pipe saying he would “definitely use it again”.
Project: Replacing old steel culvert in stream to manage flows and flooding
Contractor/Customer: Toko Mouth farmer Simon Davies, South Otago
Product: EUROFLO 1950mm culvert pipe
When: January 2019