Underground Construction - October 2019 - 26

Opening photo: Close-fit sliplining.
Courtesy of United Pipeline Systems.

REHABTECHNOLOGY
The Evolution of
Rehabilitation Technology
for Water Mains and
Other Pressure Pipes
NASSCO's Pressure Pipe Committee
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of a three-part
series on pressure pipe presented by the National
Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO)
Pressure Pipe Committee. There will be an in-depth
program track on these topics and more at UCT,
Jan. 28-30, 2020, in Fort Worth, Texas.

To understand the evolution of pressure
pipe rehabilitation technology, it also
helps to understand the evolution of
pressure pipe itself.
Logically, the first water lines were
constructed in North America during
the United States Colonial era, by simply
boring out logs. Boston, Mass., is where
the first waterworks were constructed
with these materials, in 1652, to provide
water for firefighting and domestic use.
Wooden pipes eventually evolved into
wood stave pipes and were commonly
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OCTOBER 2019 | UConOnline.com

used until the early 1800s, when increased
pressure was required.
The origin of iron pipe dates to 1664
when the first cast iron pipe was built
for water service in Versailles, France. In
1804, Philadelphia, Penn., was the first
city in North America to use cast iron
watermains, importing the iron from
the European Market. The first North
American cast iron was made in 1843, at a
foundry established in Millville, N.J.
Cast, and then ductile, iron had many
key developments in North America, over
time, that have had a profound impact
on both rehabilitation needs and the best
techniques to resolve problems, to this day.
Some of these developments included:
* 1903 - Development of the first
American Water Works Association

(AWWA) Standard for vertical cast pit
iron pipe (standardized pipe)
* 1922 - Invention of the centrifugal
casting method of pipe manufacture
(thinner wall pipe)
* 1937 - First rubber gaskets joint,
which started to replace leaded joints
(better hydrostatic integrity)
* 1939 - First AWWA Standard
for Centrifugally Cast, cast iron
(widespread use of thinner wall pipe)
* 1950s - Transition from lead and
galvanized iron house connections
to widespread use of copper
(increased corrosion rates)
* 1955 - Introduction of Centrifugally
Cast, ductile iron (even thinner
walled pipe)
* 1957 - First push-on joint rubber
gasket (modern-day, reliable
hydrostatic integrity at joints)
* 1965 - First AWWA Standard for
Ductile Iron pipe (widespread use
of even thinner walled pipe)
* 1970s - Widespread use of internal
linings in CI and DI pipe in
manufacturing
The first asbestos cement (AC) pipes
were made in Italy in 1913, and were
produced in the North American market by
Johns-Manville in 1930. AC pipe experienced widespread use in North America in
areas where soils were unusually corrosive
to iron. When the relationship between
health problems and occupational exposure
to asbestos was firmly and legally established in 1973, both Canadian and U.S.
pipe manufacturers began placing more
emphasis on the production of thermoplastics, such as PVC pipe.

Pressure Pipe Rehab
Technologies
Pressure itself typically did wood
pipes in, and while there would be new
rehabilitation challenges to address new
materials, the evolution of the pressure
pipe rehabilitation market, to date, has
largely been in response to the evolution of
iron pipe products over time. Specifically,
evolution of products addresses the unique
aspects of degradation associated with
ferrous metals, cementitious materials
or ferrous metal-cementitious composite
pipe materials, like prestressed concrete
pressure (PCP) pipe.
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