Featured Video: Buried History - Wooden Water Mains There's quite a lot of talk these days about aging underground infrastructure, but I bet nobody is referring to archaeological finds! Long-abandoned wooden pipes left beneath older communities aren’t unheard of, but outdated utility plans typically don’t pinpoint their location and it is rare to dig one up, according to this Washington Post article. This week's featured video shows how the New York City Department of Design and Construction worked with Chrysalis Archaeology to preserve their 200-year old wooden water main "find", a portion of the first piped water system in the city. Wooden water mains have been found in rural areas and large and small towns across the country, from Baltimore to Philadelphia to Gladstone, Michigan and all the way to the West Coast as well. Some of these wooden pipes serviced customers for 100 years or more! Interested in finding out more? Check out this article about the era of wooden water pipes in Portland, Oregon. April 17, 2018 By Brenda Koenig Distribution distribution, distribution system, history, water mains, wooden water mains 0 0 Comment Read More »
Pipe Wars Did you know there's a battle going on under our feet? A recent New York Times article unearths the lobbying war between two powerful industries, plastic and iron, over the estimated $300 billion that local governments will spend on water and sewer pipes over the next decade. To be sure, pipe material selection can be a complex process. Piping material choices can be influenced by a whole host of factors such as geography, soil characteristics, flow capacity needed, system pressures and more. Some utilities use a single type of piping, while others may use a wide variety depending on specific sites and needs. Moreover, municipal and utility leaders must then navigate through budget constraints and marketing hype as manufacturers fight for a piece of the infrastructure pie. It is no wonder that operators may need more information before making piping decisions. This webinar video from the Water Research Foundation about the State of the Science of Plastic Pipe provides case studies of how different utilities choose piping materials. The researchers involved in this report found that one of the most important considerations when choosing piping material is overall life cycle cost. Don't forget that there may be unique considerations to include in the decision-making process. For example, last month Bruce Macler from USEPA Region 9 wrote to us to let us know that "an interesting outcome of the recent California wildfires was that plastic water & sewer lines melted in some areas." Who would have thought? Interested in a no-nonsense listing of pros and cons of available piping materials? Check out this article. January 1, 2018 By Brenda Koenig Asset Management, Capacity Development, Small System O&M asset management, distribution, distribution o & m, distribution operation & maintenance, distribution operation and maintenance, distribution systems, financial management, infrastructure, pipe replacement, pipes, piping, piping materials, service mains, water mains 0 0 Comment Read More »