Underground Construction - August 2017 - 18

PVCPA Study

Examines Environmental Impacts, Safety, Costs Of Water Pipes
The Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association
(PVCPA), which represents U.S. and
Canadian manufacturers of PVC
pipe, announced the completion of
the first comprehensive environmental and performance review
of water and sewer pipes in North
America. The study used life-cycle
assessment methodology to evaluate the cradle-to-grave sustainability of commonly used drinking water
and sewer pipe materials, including
polyvinylchloride (PVC), concrete,
ductile iron and high density polyethylene pipes over a 100-year service period.
Sustainable Solutions Corporation (SSC), a sustainability consulting firm, was hired by PVCPA to
conduct the study. SSC's engineers
used the ISO 14040 series life-cycle
assessment (LCA) standards from
the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) to evaluate
PVC pipe's environmental footprint. The peer-reviewed report also
examines other pipe products based
on durability, performance, and
environmental data and statistics
when available.
"The PVC pipe industry is the
only pipe material that has transparently reported sustainability and
environmental impacts," said SSC
President Tad Radzinski. "This is
welcome information for both policymakers and utility professionals
to make fully informed decisions
in their efforts to improve underground infrastructure with sustainable products."
The report contains a robust set
of data that utility officials and engineers can use for their asset management plans and life-cycle cost
assessments for water and sewer
piping. The 100-year LCA methodology also helps utilities assess and
minimize water quality risks, as well
as reduce operations, maintenance
and repair costs. More than 200
sources and studies were examined
to provide the most up-to-date and
thorough industry review of the
health, safety, performance characteristics and sustainability attributes of the different pipe materials
available.

ucononline.com

The report contains a robust set of data that utility
officials and engineers can use for their asset
management plans and life-cycle cost assessments
for water and sewer piping.
Important data
"This study provides critical information for federal, state and local
policy makers as they look to modern piping materials to help rebuild
the nation's crumbling underground infrastructure," said PVCPA
Executive Director Bruce Hollands.
"Clean water was identified as a
high priority by President Trump,
and this report confirms that safer,
more cost-effective and more durable PVC pipe is key to upgrading America's drinking water and
wastewater systems."
Other findings from the study
include:
* When evaluating the sustainability of piping products for lifecycle design, it's important to understand and review the impacts
of all materials used in the piping
system, including replacements,
support materials, corrosion
mitigation, maintenance efforts
and water quality treatments
required during the service life
of pipes.
* Based on more than 60 years
of field experience, dig ups and
laboratory testing; and given its
immunity to corrosion and low
break rate, a service life in excess
of 100 years was confirmed for
PVC pipe.
* PVC does not serve as nutrient
for bacterial growth and pathogens.
* Keeping pipes in use past their
useful service lives results in
higher operating and maintenance costs. Internal pipe wall
degradation may begin almost
immediately after ductile iron
and concrete pipes are installed.

* Metallic and concrete pipes require chemical additives (phosphates) in the drinking water to
help reduce pipe wall corrosion.
Phosphates increase the chances of bio-growth (such as algae
blooms) in drinking water sources, lakes and rivers.
* Ductile iron pipe produces up
to nine times more carbon
emissions during raw materials processing, manufacturing,
transportation and installation,
compared to equivalent PVC
pipe.
* 66 percent of water supply pipes
in the U.S. are 8 inches or smaller
in diameter.
* Water and wastewater utilities
often represent as much as 40
percent of a municipality's total
energy consumption. The energy
required to pump water through
a pressurized pipe system over
the life of the pipe is a significant
source of potential environmental impacts.
* The energy required to pump
water through PVC pipe over a
100-year design life remains constant because its smooth walls
do not roughen over time. This
generates overall life-cycle cost
savings compared to ductile iron
and concrete pipes, which require
more pumping energy over time
due to corrosion, leaks and internal degradation.
* Corrosive soils affect 75 percent
of water utilities. The durability
and corrosion resistance of a pipe
greatly affects life-cycle impacts.
* Recycled material is only a single
attribute of a pipe's life-cycle environmental impacts.

Dollars
"The federal government is committed to spending $1 trillion to
upgrade the nation's infrastructure,
yet it's estimated that $2 trillion
is needed for new water and sewer
pipes alone," said Hollands.
The Life Cycle Assessment of PVC
Water and Sewer Pipe and Comparative Sustainability Analysis of
Pipe Materials report also makes
reference to the 2015 Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for
PVC pipe, which complies with ISO
14025 standards and was independently certified by global health
organization NSF International.
Based on the results of this
study, PVC pipe provides a competitive environmental and economic advantage for use in a variety
of water and sewer infrastructure
projects, including life-cycle cost
advantages and the opportunity to
substantially reduce GHGs compared to other materials. "PVC pipe
addresses affordability concerns
and enables communities to work
towards meeting their sustainable
infrastructure goals because of its
durability, low break rate, corrosion
resistance and long-lasting performance," added Hollands.
The Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association is a non-profit organization
that serves the engineering, regulatory, public health and standardization communities. The PVC pipe
represented in the study is manufactured in the U.S. and Canada for
drinking water, sanitary sewer and
storm sewer piping covering the
4- to 60-inch rigid PVC pipe market, uses a tin-based stabilizer, and
does not contain phthalates, lead or
cadmium. PVC pipe producers contribute in excess of $14 billion to
the U.S. economy and support more
than 25,000 jobs.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association
(972) 243-3902, uni-bell.org
Underground Construction August 2017

http://www.uni-bell.org http://www.ucononline.com

Underground Construction - August 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - August 2017