Copper Pinhole Failures: Plumbing Susceptibility and Management
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 135, Issue 4
Abstract
Consumers face numerous problems when they experience leaks and premature failures in their potable drinking water plumbing system. A review of an existing database of copper pipe failures demonstrated that premature pipe failures and pinhole leaks have been documented across the United States. Additionally, there are “hotspots” in the United States where pinhole failures have been documented to occur at a fairly high incidence. A number of known and suspected factors can cause copper pitting corrosion that eventually develops into a pinhole leak, such as specific water qualities, microbial activity, hydraulics, and other installation factors. However, the current understanding does not adequately define the complex synergy between causal factors, which poses a challenge in assessing plumbing susceptibility and shaping an effective management plan. This work presents a preliminary ranking of the causal factors for assessing plumbing susceptibility. However, due to incomplete understanding of the pinhole phenomenon, advice from local experts and past service history should still be given priority in assessing the likelihood of problems.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the support provided by American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF) under Project No. UNSPECIFIED3015. The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of AwwaRF. This work (Farooqi and Loganathan 2007; Farooqi 2006) was completed under the guidance of Dr. G. V. Loganathan, who was killed due to a heinous crime on the campus of Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. With somber hearts we dedicate this work to our beloved professor and colleague, G. V. Loganathan, and cherish his memory.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 4 • July 2009
Pages: 227 - 236
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 15, 2007
Accepted: Nov 5, 2008
Published online: Jun 15, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2009
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