Viega Wins PPI Award
BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Viega was recently awarded Plastic Pipe Institute’s 2016 “Project of the Year” award in the building and construction division for its Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency heating bed project.
Each year, PPI recognizes member-company projects for significant achievements involving the use of polyethylene pipe.
“This system is self-operational and I’ve had zero maintenance issues with it from Viega’s side of things,” said Fred Uhler, plant manager, BBARWA.
The BBARWA, located in Big Bear, California, contacted Viega Radiant Design Services with a project that needed an innovative solution to reduce the water content and weight of sludge. Viega developed a heated slab for the sludge to dry on for enclosed and ventilated space.
BBARWA installed Viega’s innovative Climate Mat. Arriving on the job site in a pre-assembled roll, Viega Climate Mat is best for applications over 10,000 square feet and comes complete with temporary supply-and-return headers and tubing. Installation is as easy as unrolling and securing, so there’s no concern about proper spacing or laying individual circuits. The mat system is also pre-pressurized and numbered for accurate placement.
“As far as we know, this is the first time PEX tubing has been used to dry treated sludge,” said Tony Radoszewski, president, PPI. “Drying the sludge before it is trucked to the composting facility removes water to make it lighter, which saves a significant amount of money in transportation.”
The project used approximately 22,500 linear feet of 5/8-inch ViegaPEXT Barrier crosslinked polyethylene tubing at nine-inch centers to make up the Climate Mats and cover the 16,000-square- foot slab area. Before the slab was poured, the pre-engineered mat system was rolled out and installed in less than a day.
