The system is using some of the most high-tech UV light technology in the country and sets a higher bar for pipeline repairs, Dominick Marino, owner of Valley Isle Pumping Inc., told The Maui News.

Valley Isle Pumping is repairing the sewer line that serves the entire Wailea Resort, handling over 3 million gallons of wastewater a day from the hotels, condominiums and houses that have been built in the 1,500-acre development over the past 40 years.

When the project is completed, Marino said, the 1,400-feet of sewer line that runs through the Wailea Ekahi Village condominium complex between Wailea Alanui Drive and South Kihei Road will be virtually indestructible.

"This is leading-edge technology," he said. "This is the best that's out anywhere, and we brought it here."

The technology is provided by a San Diego-based subcontractor, International Pipe Lining U.S. Inc. (iPL), which brought the process over from Europe, where UV light-curing technology was first developed. Much of the equipment and staff was brought in from California, and the liner that will be installed in the wastewater line was shipped in a climate controlled container from Germany.

"This is the first UV light cured fiberglass liner in Hawaii," said Joerg Kruse, iPL managing director.

The project requires a number of high-tech tools including two large motorized robots, a string of ultraviolet light bulbs, and a computer system housed in a large trailer near the work site. Kruse estimated the cost of the equipment at more than $1 million.

But it provides an enormous savings in time and convenience, he said. Compared to manual reinstallation of a sewer line – usually requiring contractors to dig up roadways and landscaped yards – the process is relatively simple. Once the pipes are drained and the flow has been rerouted, a high-pressure water nozzle is moved through the line to remove any remaining waste. Mineral buildup that may have been caused by the collection of water in depressions in the pipe is removed using a large, remote-controlled robot armed with a grinder and a camera.

To be sure the pipe is thoroughly smoothed out, the walls are examined by a high-definition camera attached to another robot. A cable is then used to pull a polyurethane lining through the length of the pipe. Both ends of the lining are capped and a pressurized stream of air is used to inflate it. The polyurethane within the lining is impregnated with resin hardener that is activated only by UV light.

The ultraviolet light is supplied by a string of bulbs that is pulled through the pipe and lining with a winch. The bulbs are attached to plastic rollers that also smooth out creases in the lining that can be seen with a camera installed within the string of lights. When finally smoothed out, the UV light is activated and the liner quickly cures.

The use of UV lighting to install the liner saves hundreds of man hours and is up to 70 percent more cost effective than digging up and replacing sewer lines, Marino said. The technology also greatly reduces cleanup time and noise.

With the new technology in place, repairs on the Wailea pipeline are only expected to take two weeks.

With such fast and efficient results, Marino predicted the UV-cured lining will be used in future projects around the island.

"It's really top notch stuff," Marino said. "If you can put in a liner, you can probably add 50 years to the pipe."