14 WET NEWS FEBRUARY 2017
Water firms are replacing Victorian infrastructure but can
plastic pipes survive 100 years? Yes, says BPF's Julia Trew.
Building the blocks
for a leak-free
pipeline
INSIGHT
Pipes & drainage
Ensuring best practice techniques
will protect the UK's pipe network
for generations to come
T
he UK water industry,
constantly striving for
new solutions to technical
and financial challenges, has
pretty much tried every
material or renovation option
on the market.
This was particularly the
case in the 1980s when major
infrastructure renewal got
underway in large volumes,
using spray linings, cured in
place linings, ductile iron, PVC,
polyethylene, GRP and other
options. What we have seen is a
maturing of this approach and
standardisation to a tighter set
of solutions.
Water utilities and
manufacturers are confident
The updated specifications
seeks to clarify best practice
that well designed and well
installed plastic piping systems
that genuinely survive in
service for more than 100 years
are now a real option.
We have experience of pipes
in service for more than 50
years on far inferior polymer
materials to those offered today.
There is a huge body of science
that is now debating not just
100 years but the potential for
more than 200 years in some
applications like drinking
water supply.
We have a pipeline system
which can demonstrate its
value as a reliable asset, its
versatility in terms of how you
get it into the ground, and the
