Sustainable Infrastructure Awards Showcase Performance of PVC Pipe

EDMONTON, ALBERTA, April 10, 2008 (VNS) -- Three utilities—two in Canada and one in the United States—have received the first International Awards for Sustainable Infrastructure in recognition of their outstanding performance records, their excellent management of infrastructure assets, and their substantial savings in repair costs.

EPCOR Water Services Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta; the Calgary (Alberta) Utilities and Environmental Department; and Water Development Association (WEB) of Aberdeen, S.D., were selected for the award, which is sponsored by the Committee for Sustainable Infrastructure.

The two Canadian utilities are in the vanguard of asset management, said Bob Walker, chair of the Committee for Sustainable Infrastructure and executive director of the Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association, based in Dallas. He explained that these utilities identified the types, sizes and locations of all of the pipe in their water distribution networks, and they analyzed the performance of each pipe material. They found that repairs of corrodible iron pipes exceeded those of non-corrodible PVC pipes by a ratio of 281 to 1 for EPCOR and 291 to 1 for Calgary. Ambitious programs to replace iron pipe with PVC pipe enabled both Calgary and Edmonton to avoid having to impose substantial rate increases on their ratepayers. Walker said the savings have been estimated at more than $5 million a year in avoided water main repair costs.

Steve Stanley, EPCOR senior vice president, said that by increasing the use of longer-life, lower- maintenance assets, “our system has become sustainable.”

At WEB, the water main break rate is more than 120 times lower than the national median. One of the largest rural water systems in the U.S., WEB’s 6,500 miles of PVC pipe service a geographic area the size of Connecticut. According to Mark Lindseth, general manager, “The WEB system would not be possible, in terms of sustainability or affordability, if it weren’t for PVC water mains.”

The International Awards for Sustainable Infrastructure were conceived to encourage awareness about infrastructure and to spotlight excellence. “There is arguably no more important public service than that of providing safe drinking water and the environmentally conscientious disposal of wastewater, even though most of us take these essential services for granted and don’t give much thought to the huge investment that our communities have in water and wastewater infrastructure,” Walker said.

The Committee for Sustainable Infrastructure is currently comprised of water industry engineers from across the U.S. and Canada. Plans are to expand the geographic reach next year to include candidates beyond North America, Walker said.

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Chlorinated PVC Pipe Keeps Olympic Pool Water at a Perfect Ten

BEIJING, May 1, 2008 (VNS) -- The pristine water the world will see in the main competition pool at the 2008 Summer Olympics flows through a water treatment system that includes 4,300 feet of chlorinated PVC (CPVC) pipe, manufactured by Cleveland-based Lubrizol Corporation.

China Construction Design International chose Corzan® CPVC for the job because it “offers a number of advantages when compared to other piping systems available on the market today, including fast, safe, clean installation and resistance to many of the chemicals used in treating pool water,” said Yang Peng, the company’s vice chief engineer.

Yang explained that the piping system needs to meet or exceed potable water standards and CPVC pipe meets this requirement.

David Lau, the Asia Pacific business director for Lubrizol’s TempRite Engineered Polymers division, said that CPVC resists corrosion, even in the aggressive chemical environment of the filtration system. “The smooth interior surface and large internal diameter result in lower energy use and more efficient water conveyance,” he said, “and the natural insulation properties help maintain desired water temperature.” The piping itself helps maintain water purity because, unlike some metallic alternatives, there is no leaching with CPVC.

Also, Lau said, CPVC is lightweight and easier to maneuver than other materials. The entire piping project was installed in less than six months at a cost of about $500,000.

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Danish Natural Science Festival informing pupils about water and PVC

Drinking water pipes in PVC in the festival package this year

In the week commencing 24 September Danish Natural Science Festival is again focusing on natural science. The objective of the festival is to create enthusiasm for natural science and technology among children and young people. Last year the festival involved around one fourth of the basic schools and around one half of the upper secondary schools in Denmark.

This year the Danish basic schools and upper secondary schools will get the opportunity to buy a festival package. In the festival package the pupils will find, among other things, a 30cm piece of PVC pressure pipe and a background text about PVC and pipes, which the PVC Information Council Denmark have prepared together with Nordisk Wavin and Danish Natural Science Festival. The background paper tells the pupils about the development in the water supply in Denmark since 1700 until today, and how the PVC pipe has been playing an important role in the improvement of the drinking water quality. The texts are “a fact sheet” and “the good story” respectively (only available in Danish).

The background of the enclosure of the PVC pipe in the festival package is owing to the fact that the topic of the Danish Natural Science Festival 2007 is water and ice. The pedagogical idea behind the festival package is that the pupils will get an insight in the technology behind some of the important everyday phenomena, that they are normally not giving a thought. The festival package have already been ordered by more than 500 basic schools and upper secondary schools all over the country.

Besides a PVC pipe, given by Nordisk Wavin, the pupils will find in the package different objects that are related to water. Grundfos has given an impeller, Danfoss a compression plunger, Danish Water – Waste Water Organisation, DANVA, some filter sand and the Association of Water Works in Denmark has given a water meter.

Danish Natural Science Festival is financed by the Danish Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and a number of foundations, companies and organisations.