When it comes to rehabilitating aging or failing sewer infrastructure, municipalities and engineers are often faced with costly and disruptive options. Traditional dig-and-replace methods can mean tearing up roads, sidewalks, or green spaces—creating major community disruption and long project timelines. That’s why no-dig technology has become such a critical tool in modern sewer rehabilitation.
Without the need for excavation, no-dig offers these benefits:
- Reduced disruption: Streets and sidewalks remain open, minimizing inconvenience to the public
- Lower overall costs: Eliminating excavation reduces labor and equipment needs
- Faster installation: Projects can often be completed in days rather than weeks or months
- Environmental sustainability: Less excavation means less waste and fewer emissions
- Extended asset life: Properly-applied linings restore structural integrity and corrosion resistance
Among the most advanced of these solutions is polyurea rehabilitation technology, which bonds extremely well to a variety of substrates and provides structural enhancement to the existing structure. By forming a seamless, high-strength liner inside manholes, lift stations, and other critical assets, polyurea extends service life while reducing infiltration and corrosion risks. It’s more than just a protective coating—it’s a structural upgrade that helps utilities safeguard infrastructure investments for decades to come.
How OBIC Complements CIPP
A complete sewer rehabilitation plan often requires multiple technologies working together. While cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) is an excellent trenchless option for lining horizontal pipelines, it does not address manholes or other vertical structures where infiltration and corrosion are equally damaging.
As “the manhole side of the solution,” OBIC’s spray-applied polyurea solutions can work seamlessly with CIPP to ensure every part of the system is fully protected. The same applies to high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe systems, where OBIC linings complement pipe integrity by sealing connections and rehabilitating adjoining structures. Together, these technologies create a comprehensive no-dig manhole rehabilitation strategy that quickly stops and prevents future damage from various causes of I&I, and lowers long-term maintenance costs.
Why OBIC 1000 is Ideal for Sewer Structure Rehabilitation
OBIC 1000 is a spray-applied polyurea coating engineered specifically for wastewater applications. It forms a seamless, impermeable liner inside concrete, steel, or brick sewer structures. Applied using no-dig methods, OBIC 1000 can be installed without excavation, reducing downtime and community disruption.
Its chemical composition resists hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) corrosion, aggressive chemicals, and moisture—ideal for the harsh environments of manholes, lift stations, and wet wells. Other benefits include:
- Extreme Durability: Designed to withstand constant exposure to wastewater and corrosive gases
- Fast-Curing: Enables same-day return to service, minimizing disruption
- Flexible Application: Adapts to minor substrate movement without cracking
- Tested Performance: Proven through rigorous testing and real-world field results
Whether you’re rehabilitating aging assets or protecting new construction, OBIC 1000 offers reliable defense against the toughest wastewater environments.
OBIC 1000 + OBIC 1306 = OBIC Armor System
For manholes in particular, OBIC created the Armor multi-layer system, which consists of OBIC 1306 closed-cell foam sandwiched between two layers of OBIC 1000. The first high-temperature (1000) polyurea layer creates a tenacious adhesive bond for the second hybrid polyurethane layer (1306) that expands to fill all the cracks, crevices, voids and bug holes, and provides some restoration to the wall thickness. The third and final polyurea layer (1000) delivers a protective layer against hydrogen sulfide and microbial-induced corrosion. The three layers of the OBIC Armor system together form a stress skin panel. Stress skin panels exhibit great strength, which is why they are commonly used in airplane construction, vehicle fabrication, and building construction.
The choice is clear – when you need fast, strong, and cost-effective no-dig solutions for your precast concrete, stone, concrete block, brick, or cast-in-place concrete manholes, OBIC products stop degradation and enhance structural integrity for decades without cracking under the pressure of temperature changes or heavy traffic.
Ready to rehabilitate your sewer manholes with confidence? Contact us today to learn more about OBIC 1000 or find a certified installer near you.
