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Why choose a concrete pipeline?

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Sunday 28th February, 2016

For hundreds of years concrete has been used in construction due to its inherent strength, with concrete pipes and manholes offering proven resilience as opposed to other vulnerable pipeline systems, where the structural strength of the system has to be built around the pipeline. The strength of concrete pipes makes them less susceptible to the effects of poor bedding and installation.

Users however, are not only looking for inherent strength, but also at other advantages such as installed cost benefits and low maintenance costs which are also offered by using a concrete pipe system.

Concrete pipes can often be laid without using full granular bedding and surround and more often than not, the excavated material is reused and therefore imported granular material is kept to a minimum. The reuse of the excavated material also reduces disposal costs, which minimizes the amount of vehicle movements off site to remove the evacuated material which in turn minimizes disruption to the local community surrounding the construction site.

Concrete pipes do not deform or lose shape over their service life unlike other vulnerable pipe systems and as noted in a report by the House of Commons Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs in 1998, concrete pipes are not affected by rodent or fire attack, they can also withstand impact damage caused by solid objects being carried through the system during floods and normal operations and can be less affected by damage caused by jetting (with 5,000 psi jetting resistance).

Concrete pipelines have been the backbone of the UK sewer system since the mid-1800’s for very good reasons: they are strong, quick to install, durable and cost effective.

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