PVC Pipe Association

Asset Management: Using Alternative Materials to Address Replacement Cost and Maintenance Concerns In the 21st century, water util-ity management professionals for both water and sewer systems strive to implement asset management programs in order to better manage their aging wet infrastructure. In 2012, a Black and Veatch survey1 on the US water industry found that the top asset management issues were all financially driven, namely addressing aging water and sewer infrastructure, managing capital costs, funding or availability of capital, and energy costs. In 2013, a McGraw Hill Construction study, conducted in partnership with CH2M Hill,2 confirmed that 75% of utilities implementing asset management programs did so because of their concerns with aging infrastructure. Major studies from the US Mayor’s Water Council,the USEPA,4 the Congressional Budget Office,5 US Government Accountability Office,6 the American Water Works Association7 and others all conclude that the costs associa...

PVC sewer pipe has demonstrated outstanding performance even in Canada's challenging conditions, with over 85% adoption in new installations, making it the preferred material for sanitary sewers. Solid-wall PVC sewer pipe sets the standard against which other pipe types are measured, including profile-wall PVC and PP pipes. The long-term reliability of PVC sewer pipe, spanning almost fifty years, is supported by CSA's PVC sewer pipe standards, such as CSA B182.2 (since 1983), CSA B182.7 (first published in 1997 and merged into B182.2 in 2011), and B182.4 (also since 1983). In contrast, the PP standard B182.13 was introduced only in 2011. Stringent acceptance tests include deflection mandrel testing, where PVC pipe allows no more than 7½% deflection of the pipe diameter, ensuring a high safety factor against buckling. PP pipes lack specific guidance on allowable deflection, necessitating lower deflection specifications for equivalent safety. Air testing standards for PVC and ...