Patent ID: 9687891
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: B08B,B24C

Claim:
1. A method for removing debris from an interior of a water intake pipe that has collected over time, a substantial portion of the water intake pipe being submerged in a body of water and lying on the bottom of the body of water, the method comprising: fluidly isolating one end of the water intake pipe that is disposed opposite an inlet end of the water intake pipe; maintaining the inlet end the water intake pipe in fluid communication with the body of water and in place adjacent the bottom of the body of water such that a substantial portion of the water intake pipe remains submerged and full of water from the body of water; arranging at least one pump to draw a flow of liquid water directly from the body of water; fluidly connecting an output of the at least one pump to the one end of the water intake pipe through a junction disposed between the one end of the water intake pipe and the inlet end of the water intake pipe; activating the at least one pump to draw the flow of liquid water directly from the body of water; providing the flow of liquid water to the water intake pipe through the junction such that a flow of liquid water passes through the water intake pipe to create a continuous water circuit for the liquid water flow that extends from the pump, through the junction, into the one end of the water intake pipe, through the substantial portion of the water intake pipe that is disposed along the bottom of the body of water, through the inlet end of the water intake pipe, and into the body of water to remove the debris, which is ejected from the water intake pipe through the end into the body of water until the water intake pipe is clean; and maintain the pump active to provide the liquid flow of water through the water intake pipe until the water intake pipe is clean, wherein the liquid flow of water provided through the water intake pipe for cleaning is higher than a normal flow of liquid water through the water intake pipe during normal operation.