Intakes and De-watering

Pre-insulated pipe is commonly used for water intakes especially in remote northern climates. The insulation generally terminates just below the ice cap.  For heat tracing of intake pipe where water infiltration is a concern, Urecon recommends the watertight copper (or small OD HDPE) channel/tube method as it guarantees a dry environment for the cable*. This is most handy for intakes where we know for sure that the pipe will be submerged at some point. The copper or HDPE tube is capped at the “wet” end and is continuous all the way to the “dry” end which is usually a pumphouse. We recommend that the joints be covered with a shrinkable wrap or sleeve to keep things dry – this is done with direct bury or above ground applications.