Vortex Wins Trenchless Technology Project of the Year Award

(HOUSTON, TX) September 22, 2022 – The Vortex Companies, a leading provider of advanced trenchless water and sewer technologies and infrastructure renewal services, announced today its receipt of the Trenchless Technology Project of the Year Award – Rehabilitation for its extensive work with City of Houston to repair critical infrastructure below one of the City’s busiest arteries. Vortex’s expertise and versatile Quadex Lining System® (QLS) and GeoKrete® geopolymer enabled nearly 5,700 linear feet of the City’s vast sewer system to be repaired without disrupting commuters, businesses or schools.

Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, operates a sewer system that includes more than 6,000 miles of sanitary sewers, 381 wastewater lift stations and 39 wastewater treatment plants. An inspection identified 2.8 miles of 60-inch sanitary sewer suffering from severe I&I and high likelihood of failure. The corroded section was located beneath Fulton Street, a major roadway that runs through downtown Houston and hosts one of the City’s METRORail light rail lines. As METRORail is used by 40,000 commuters and connects a myriad of medical professionals and visitors to the medical center district, it was imperative to avoid road or light rail closures. City of Houston selected Vortex’s QLS and GeoKrete products for the challenging rehabilitation project.

Following cleaning, extensive patching and repair of the sewer line cracks, voids and offset joints, GeoKrete was spray-applied to non-round areas and obstructions. Additionally, Vortex enabled City of Houston to deploy an innovative, internal bypass system that allowed for wastewater to remain in flow during the entire operation. As a result, the City received a fully structural and rehabilitated corrosion-resistant pipe and restored offset manholes, free of severe I&I, without interrupting traffic or light rail service.

“This project demonstrated an unprecedented level of communication and collaboration among METRORail, TXDOT, the Houston Independent School District, multiple homeowners’ associations and various City of Houston departments, which was critical to the project’s success,” stated Mike Vellano, CEO of The Vortex Companies. “We are delighted to receive this award and honored that municipalities across the globe depend upon our broad range of in-house manufactured trenchless repair solutions to restore complete structural integrity to severely compromised, critical infrastructure without total pipe replacement.”

About The Vortex Companies

The Vortex Companies is a leading provider of advanced trenchless water and sewer technologies and provides turnkey services to cost effectively renew municipal, industrial and commercial infrastructure. Vortex, along with its partners, offers the most diverse technology platforms in the industry. This includes manhole and pipe rehabilitation materials, polymeric coatings and resins, sewer robot systems and high-speed drain cleaning tools and allows customers the opportunity to select the best fit for their system.  

Operating globally, Vortex remains focused on its vision of expanding and providing a broad range of industry leading, cost-effective trenchless infrastructure renewal solutions, supported by experienced and trained personnel. For more information, go to vortexcompanies.com.