Geomembranes : Conversations with Mr Joshi on 11th May 2016

Farm pond + drains

Mr Joshi along with Lakshmikanth were installing the geomembrane at a farm pond off Kodathi Gate, Sarjapura Road at Mr Ashok's farm camp. They were doing this work  undertaken by TEXEL industries (Sailesh R Mehta. MD  Texel Industries  ..9825329050)

The team

Equipment for welding

Jointing

Anchoring the membrane

Documented below are some details from the conversation. The membrane is made up of 7 layers of HDPE + LDPE yarns + water proof medium. The company has been around for over 30 years now. The sheets are available in 2m * 100m lengths. These are then welded together into 6m x 40m or 6m x 60m pieces that are then installed. They are jointed with a heat blower at 350-400C. Thickness of 0.25mm to 1.25mm. The joining is a critical part of the installation and has to be done by a skilled technician

The company has done over 2000 ponds in the last couple of years. A team of 2 normally handle the installation on site. Most have been in Maharashtra and Gujarat so far. The company is Headquartered  in Bombay

The costs work out to 150/- to 200/- per sqm – including installation, transportation and all other incidentals. The company is also part of the BIS standards committee for geomembranes. The material has done well even in exposed condition when not holding water. The oldest ponds are 10-12 years old. The membrane can also be repaired in case tears develop. No surface preparation is required. The surface has to be kept as smooth as possible and without any sharp objects. Gentle slopes are preferred

The sides of the sheet are anchored with weights/sand bags/mud

The largest implementation is 7Cr liters. Average sizes are 50L to 1Cr liters
No specific innovations have been made for reducing evaporation

A video to demonstrate the welding process