Costs less to handle, install and maintain

In Canada alone, municipalities are losing $650 million in water each year, through broken water mains. At the same time, taxpayers are spending roughly $82 million annually to repair these breaks. As North American municipalities continue to replace aging cast iron and asbestos cement pipe with PVC, these expenditures will become largely unnecessary.

One survey tracked the performance of cast ductile iron pipe versus PVC in 21 cities over a two-year period. While iron pipe experienced 9.5 breaks per 100 km, PVC had a mere 0.7 failures per 100 km. In municipalities maintaining equal amounts of PVC, cast iron, ductile iron and asbestos cement, PVC pipe accounted for only 1.3% of the repairs. No wonder most of the water distribution pipe currently being installed is PVC

When it comes to installation, PVC pipe offers substantial cost savings over traditional cast iron, ductile iron and asbestos cement piping materials too. Because it weighs less, PVC is less costly to handle. Furthermore, no heavy equipment and fewer tools are required on the construction site.

For plumbing, industrial and other applications, thermoplastic piping offers similar benefits. In addition to its strength, light weight, long service life, higher flow rates and electrical insulating properties, PVC is faster and easier to install than traditional piping materials.