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steve2470

(37,457 posts)
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 09:53 PM Jul 2014

question about water mains

Of course, this is triggered by the WaterMainapocalypse in LA. The anchor just said some of the underground pipes are older than this one (1921).

Question: If a water district has adequate funds to maintain and repair pipes, how often should they replace these pipes ? I'm not trying to cast aspersions upon LA, just curious. Thanks.

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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question about water mains (Original Post) steve2470 Jul 2014 OP
Impossible to answer. To many variables. That said. Lochloosa Jul 2014 #1
Every city has old water and gas lines dflprincess Jul 2014 #2
I spent 12 years serving on the board of a small local water authority Pakid Jul 2014 #3
Some places still have wooden water mains. DURHAM D Jul 2014 #4
yea that really blows my mind nt steve2470 Jul 2014 #5
how often is a riverbed replaced? jberryhill Jul 2014 #6

dflprincess

(28,057 posts)
2. Every city has old water and gas lines
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 10:09 PM
Jul 2014

If I recall correctly, the gas line that ruptured in NYC earlier this year was built in the late 19th century.

Crumbling infrastructure - God forbid we spend any money rebuilding the country.

Pakid

(478 posts)
3. I spent 12 years serving on the board of a small local water authority
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 10:20 PM
Jul 2014

We dug up a line from 1930 to replace and much to our surprise it was in great shape It is almost impossible to really know without looking just how good or bad a line is. Depending on the type of soil it is in has a lot to do with how long it can last. Are 1930 line was buried in leaves of all thing and they at least in this case worked wonders. Also many old line are much thicker ductile iron than the ductile iron that was used in later years. So it is possible that a line from 1921 could be in good shape today! Today either ductile iron or plastic are used.

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