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A city can have hundreds—sometimes thousands—of miles of sewer lines to regularly inspect and maintain. Combine the length of laterals leading to these mainlines, and the total miles within the overall system can increase astronomically.

Despite the sheer size of these wastewater systems, routine inspections and maintenance are vital for the safety of the community and efficient use of municipal budget and resources. 

There are other perks as well; regularly examining both laterals and mainlines can significantly boost efficiency while optimizing expenses, performance, and longevity. 

4 Benefits of Inspecting Laterals and Mainlines Together

Closely inspecting your sewer laterals and mainlines at the same time can deliver great benefits. Here are some of the most important:

1. Time & Costs Savings

When the laterals and mainline are tackled together, your team can reduce the number of required site visits and the necessary headcount to complete the inspection. This streamlined process can save dozens of man hours while slashing mobilizations and deployments throughout your region. 

2. Reduced Disruption

Simultaneously inspecting sewer laterals and mainlines significantly reduces the disruption to members of the public and surrounding neighborhoods (and helps you avoid asking property owners for access to their cleanouts). With the right lateral and mainline inspection equipment, you can audit thousands of feet of systems—all from a single location in a single day. 

3. Enhanced Data Collection

Augmenting your overall data collection generates multiple short- and long-term benefits, including:

• Enhanced Holistic View - Inspecting the laterals alongside your mainline gives you deeper insights into the entire sewer network, empowering you to develop a timeline of immediate and long-term repairs. 
• Accurate Mapping - Leveraging the proper sewer inspection equipment expands your team’s knowledge of the overall system while also creating a detailed, accurate, and up-to-date snapshot of system health—and help you spot issues like cross bores.

4. Improved Maintenance & Decision-Making

By amplifying your overall data collection, your team can make faster, smarter decisions, which results in better budget management—and the data points necessary to request additional budgetary funding, if needed. 

Equipment for Inspecting Laterals and Mainlines

As a leading industry manufacturer, we’ve worked to develop industry-leading lateral and mainline inspection and repair equipment. Some of the most popular: 

LAMP II - Lateral And Mainline Probe II

The Lateral And Mainline Probe (LAMP) II provides a long list of benefits. Some of the most important, ROI-generating features of the LAMP II:

• Two cameras—one for pan/tilt/optical zoom operations within the mainline and one for lateral launching. 
• It’s self-propelled, giving you greater control over the device and its cameras. 
• Perfect for identifying infiltration and inflow, inspecting cross bores, finding pipe defects, and auditing structural conditions. 

Most importantly, the LAMP II offers the ability to quickly inspect laterals without leaving the mainline—and without finding cleanouts or seeking permission of the property owner.

Chemical Sealing Systems

Our truck-mounted Chemical Sealing Systems provide additional power and transportability to stop leaks and defend against infiltration without leaving the safety and comfort of your truck. 

Packers

Our remote-controlled packers give you the ability to access and repair hard-to-reach locations during your inspections. Two primary offerings:

• Compact Collapsible Packers - These collapsible but rugged and lightweight packers save time, labor, and money over conventional packers.
• Low Void Packers - These low-volume, chemical injection, multi-grout packers are compatible with acrylamides, urethane and other common chemical grouting materials.

Where to Learn More

To learn more about tools and resources for inspecting laterals and mainlines, contact us! Our team members are available to guide you through your next project or repair.