Drinking water network · Maintenance
Valve exercising and maintenance in the water network in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland
A gate valve that cannot be closed when it matters costs you half the local network for as long as a burst lasts. Water valves separate ring mains and sections of main; how they function decides how small a fault can be contained. CFT turns and checks every gate valve, listens to it open and closed and records its condition in writing. Report your maintenance requirement on +43 (0) 2252 53169 or in writing to office@cft.at, and we will settle the extent of the network, the documents and the appointment. We travel to networks in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland with our own staff – a short journey and appointments at short notice.
What we do on site
We walk the network fitting by fitting, search for and open covered surface boxes as well and move every gate valve over its full travel. The condition we assess, we do not repair it: whatever can no longer be moved or does not hold tight when closed, we tell you about.
Key facts at a glance
| Methods | Turning and function test, acoustic check in the open and closed position, electromagnetic pipe locating to find surface boxes, GPS surveying-in of surface boxes and points on the mains |
|---|---|
| Application range | Municipal distribution networks, association mains, fire mains, industrial site networks |
| Duration | Planned as an annual maintenance round across the network. |
| Result format | Documentation on request |
| Service area | Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland |
For water suppliers
Regularly moving all the line valves is time-consuming and always comes behind the tasks that are pressing right now – it is left undone until an incident shows which fitting no longer moves or no longer closes tight. CFT takes on this round as annual valve maintenance: a checked condition for each fitting instead of memory, covered surface boxes searched for and made findable again, and you learn before the incident which gate valves ought to be replaced.
For you as a business
In works networks and on fire main rings, the ability to shut down individual production areas depends on how the gate valves function; maintenance rounds are therefore placed in shutdown periods. As a recurring service, valve exercising and maintenance suits framework agreements with a fixed annual interval and tenders with a schedule of quantities by number of fittings.
How the job runs
1. Check against the asset list. You provide the plan of the mains and the valve register, from which the order of the round is drawn up. Gate valves that appear on the plan but are missing in the field are handled as a separate work item.
2. Find and open the surface boxes. On site the surface boxes are searched for and opened. Covered or asphalted-over boxes are narrowed down via the route of the main and marked; the exposing itself is done by your municipal works department. This search accounts for a substantial part of the effort.
3. Turn, listen, document. Every gate valve is closed fully and opened again; in doing so the turning resistance is assessed and the fitting is listened to in both positions. Visible defects on the surface box, spindle and valve extension spindle assembly are recorded.
4. Hand over and survey in. You learn which fittings show defects and in what order of priority they belong. At the customer’s request, surface boxes and points on the mains are surveyed in by GPS and transferred into plans of the mains.
Equipment and methods
Turning and function test
Every gate valve is moved through its full travel, from open to closed and back. What is assessed is whether it is free-moving and how high the turning resistance is. A gate valve that cannot be moved is recorded as a defect instead of being forced free – the condition is assessed, not repaired.
Acoustic check in the open and closed position
With the gate valve closed, we listen for whether water is still flowing through: a flow noise means that the fitting does turn but does not close tight and will not isolate a section in an incident. The finding says tight or not tight, not how badly the seat is damaged.
Electromagnetic pipe locating to find surface boxes
If a surface box is missing in the field, the route of the main is recorded electromagnetically and the box is searched for along this line – this way, fittings that were covered over during road works can be found again. Without a conductive main or tracer wire, only the search via existing records and ground penetrating radar remains.
GPS surveying-in of surface boxes and points on the mains
At the customer’s request, the surface boxes found and prominent points on the mains are surveyed in by satellite and processed into plans of the mains; this turns the maintenance round into a survey of the asset stock at the same time.
What you receive
The service is the maintenance itself; documentation is available on request. What we notice on a fitting, we tell you about.
Costs and effort
The effort depends on the number of fittings, the condition of the surface boxes and on how many of them have to be searched for first. We agree the cost range with you by telephone before the job, usually as an annual round across the whole network.
Frequently asked questions
How often should gate valves be exercised?
CFT offers the maintenance as an annual round through the supply network. A gate valve that stays unmoved for years seizes up and can no longer be closed reliably in an incident.
Does supply have to be interrupted for this?
As a rule not: the gate valve is closed and immediately opened again. When fittings that have been unused for a long time are moved, deposits can come loose and cause brief discolouration; whether the sections affected are flushed afterwards is decided by your network operations. Where consumers are sensitive, we announce the maintenance round in advance.
What happens if a gate valve no longer closes?
It is recorded as a defect, with the acoustic finding and its position. This allows your network operations to commission a replacement and at the same time to know which sections cannot be cleanly isolated until then.
Do you also find surface boxes that have been tarred over or lost?
The searching yes, regularly: the boxes are narrowed down via the located route of the main and marked, and at the customer’s request surveyed in by GPS afterwards. Exposing a box that has been tarred over is done by your municipal works department or your building contractor – we locate and mark.
Contact and opening hours
CFT Group GmbH, Wiener Straße 99, A-2514 Traiskirchen, +43 (0) 2252 53169, Monday to Thursday 8:00–16:30, Friday 8:00–12:00 – responsible for networks in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland. Outside office hours in writing to office@cft.at; we will come back to you on the next working day.
Related services
Valve and hydrant surface boxes
When the surface box has been asphalted over, buried or overgrown and has to be found first.
Water loss analysis
Needs tight, free-moving gate valves to be able to divide a network into zones at all.
Burst location and leak detection in the network
Narrows down, in an incident, the section that the gate valves are meant to isolate.
Utility asset record for GIS
Transfers the surveyed-in surface boxes into a permanent data set.
Describe the findings.
The more precisely you describe the findings, the more directly we can go to work. Plans, readings and photos help us settle the method in advance.
What happens next
- We read your message and match the case to a method.
- We come back to you – usually with a question that shortens the appointment.
- We confirm the appointment and what it costs before anyone sets off.
Rather talk?
+43 (0) 2252 53169
Mon–Thu 8:00–16:30 · Fri 8:00–12:00
Describe your case.
Fastest by telephone – then we settle straight away which method fits and what you should prepare.
Outside office hours, write to office@cft.at.