FlowGuard® Bendable Multilayer Pipe Offers Las Vegas Home Builder a Solution to Water Service Woes

Being a city in the middle of the desert, Las Vegas has always had its share of water-related issues. While the Las Vegas Valley Water District has solved many logistic challenges over the years, one specific problem had long gone unresolved until recently: how to transfer water from city main lines to residential buildings without the service line piping failing.

The water district, like many others, relied on copper piping to provide water to homes for decades, but it was regularly the case that this piping had to be replaced as a result of corrosion related to aggressive water and/or soil conditions. As copper prices rose dramatically in recent years, these regular replacements became more and more costly. The piping also became a liability from a theft standpoint, as the resale price of the material attracted criminal attention—at least one project reported several incidents despite increased security. It was clear that a replacement material was needed, but for many years there seemed to be no viable alternative.

In the 1990’s, the Las Vegas Valley Water District decided to try something new: polyethylene (PE) piping. While this plastic piping eliminated the theft issues better than copper piping, there was found to be a new problem—the PE piping suffered from oxidative degradation when exposed to the city’s chlorinated water, and the failures began anew. It was clear to water district personnel that PE lacked the necessary chemical resistance for the task, and the use of PE alone was abandoned in favor of PE-coated copper piping. While this would not solve the problem permanently, it seemed the only viable solution. At the time, there were more than 8,000 piping failures occurring every year as a result of copper and PE’s performance deficits.

Recently, Lubrizol partnered with Underground Solutions, an infrastructure technology and pipeline rehabilitation company, to deliver a new water service line material to the Las Vegas Valley Water District: FlowGuard® Bendable Multilayer CPVC piping from Lubrizol. Bo Botteicher, a piping engineer with Underground Solutions, explained why FlowGuard Bendable makes sense for water districts: “We identified a particular need in the water service line market for a material that was not subject to oxidative degradation in the presence of chlorine-based disinfectants like polyethylene pipe, but would be less expensive and easier to work with than copper tube. It was within this framework that we discovered Lubrizol’s FlowGuard Bendable product and saw the opportunity it presented for water service line applications.

“FlowGuard Bendable, as a composite pipe, combines the best aspects of each material in its multilayer composition—CPVC for durability, corrosion resistance, light weight, and ease of handling; aluminum for bendability, rigidity, and strength,” Botteicher continued. “With its flexibility and resistance to chemicals and aggressive water and/or soil conditions, compared to the other popular piping products currently available for the service line market, it represents the perfect balance of capability and value.”

A major Las Vegas home builder agreed to test out the FlowGuard Bendable material on four model homes being built, and quickly set to work laying the pipe. It was found that FlowGuard Bendable could be pulled underground and laid in open trench applications without sustaining damage after laboratory testing. After water had been flowing through the pipe to the homes reliably for some time, it became clear that a solution to the material problems plaguing the water district had been found. Confident in their decision to use FlowGuard Bendable, the home builder moved forward with the second step in a six-phase construction project: A 34-home subdivision.

Reflecting on the water service line installation process, Botteicher said, “FlowGuard Bendable has performed just as advertised. We have been pleasantly surprised at the ease of installation, particularly in regard to trenchless pipe splitting techniques as well as more conventional direct bury applications. We consistently hear that it is ‘easier to work with’ than copper and eliminates the oxidative degradation due to chlorine-based disinfectants concerns that can limit the lifetime of polyethylene pipe. It is simple to lay long, continuous runs of the piping and you don’t have to worry about affixing joints if you need to change direction—you just bend the pipe.”

The new 34-home subdivision is now being supplied with water via FlowGuard Bendable piping, and both the home builder and the water district are appreciating how dependable FlowGuard Bendable piping is in water service applications.

According to Botteicher, Underground Solutions has found that not only is the piping material reliable, but the company that supports it is as well. “As the institution that originally developed and brought the product to market, Lubrizol has been critical in the testing, marketing, production, and promotion of FlowGuard Bendable for use as a building and water service line piping material. Lubrizol and its entire team have been and will continue to be critical to the continued success of the product as it is embraced as an applicable water service line material going forward. Because of our experiences with the pipe and the support of Lubrizol, we will be promoting the use of this product for water service line applications throughout North America going forward.”

Want to learn more about how FlowGuard Bendable can help with your next project? Visit www.flowguardbendable.com.

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