Innovation in Pipeline Renewal: A Historical Perspective

Our underground piping infrastructure has done more to advance our health and quality of life than even modern medicine. The collection and containment of wastewater and the distribution and preservation of clean, potable water have been the primary means of preventing the spread of disease. In fact, the population concentrations necessary to fuel the industrial revolution would not have been sustainable without our modern plumbing systems. As one of the oldest and most vital portions of our modern infrastructure, it is unfortunate that our buried pipes tend to be "out of sight and out of mind." Pipes, like all structures, have limited design lives. A balance is understandably sought between initial construction and material costs versus the expected service life. The hostile sewage environment and occasionally aggressive soils tend to gradually corrode and degrade many of the widely available piping materials, thus limiting their service life to less than 100 years. In extremely aggressive environments, some piping materials have structurally deteriorated in less than 50 years. More commonly, the technological limitations of available jointing systems and inadequate workmanship during construction have reduced the functional service life of our buried piping systems. Favorably, technological advancements continue to improve the design understanding and the performance of our modern buried piping systems. Unfortunately, few notice as our older piping systems continue to deteriorate far beneath our feet. The health and environmental impacts generated by their deterioration, although significant, are gradual and almost imperceptible. Until documentation was required, how many agencies were really aware of the actual increase in the number of SSOs or the increased concentration of fecal coliform in the waterways? Fortunately, however, the proper functionality of our systems can be effectively extended with proper maintenance and cost-effectively restored through trenchless pipe renewal. Trenchless pipe renewal offers an affordable means of sealing and structurally renewing our buried piping systems, thereby ensuring their sustainability and protecting the quality of life to which mankind has become accustomed.