Sewers and water mains in England and Wales; materials, manufacture and capital expenditure

Abstract

This state of the art review, sponsored by the Department of the Environment, Transport and Road Research Laboratory, discusses pipelines for the water industry under four main headings;- capital expenditure on pipelines, the relationship between public and private construction and the forecasting of future expenditure; - national specifications for pipe products, mainly British Standards,their development, consistency, quality assurance procedures and methods of certification. - materials used for pipe manufacture, methods of bulk production, the rate of introduction of new prospective materials - the development of pipe manufacturing techniques, the depiction of current manufacture by the use of flow charts. The pipe manufacturing industry suffering from a severe recession, now operating at only 50% of its 1973 output, is in need rationalisation. Few new manufacturing techniques have appeared in the last twenty years and it is only in the last ten that new materials have made a significant contribution, Plastics, mainly polyvinyl chloride, are now used for water supply and very recently the introduction alkaline resistant glass fibres and calcined clay powders promised some interesting developments for sewer-pipes. The manufacturing industry is so dependent on the public purse that the major users, principally the water authorities, must contribute to the development and use of sewer and water pipe. There are historical precedents which clearly show the benefits of active participation by users in the developments of the materials and products they purchase. There are signs for optimism, in that this is beginning to happen, but for such large purchasing bodies it i$ suggested that a strong co-ordinating centre is needed for research needs and the dissemination of up to date information. This centre could contribute much to the rationalisation of national Standards and to the promotion of performance codes for pipelines within the frame work of the International Organisation for Standardisation.