UK water suppliers and ePIPE provider, Pipe Restoration Services, are teaming up in an effort to meet the upcoming December 2013, World Health Organization’s, standards for reducing dissolved lead in drinking water.

First of its kind to meet the requirements of UK’s Water Regulatory Advisory Scheme (WRAS) and the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s (DWI) Regulation 31 program, ePIPE provides an effective answer for water suppliers in addressing the issue of dissolved lead. The ePIPE process places a protective barrier coating to the inside of the piping system, capable of lining an entire water supply line from the water main to the customers internal stop tap.

Working this past December and January, ePIPE projects were conducted with several water utility companies in England.

The projects involved small diameter (12mm ID and 15mm ID) lead pipes of various lengths and layouts. Pipe sections ran under the roadway, under building foundations, paved surfaces, sidewalks and garden areas, running from the ferrule at the water main and terminating either at outside connections or inside the building at the internal stop tap, depending on the layout. A common supply pipe in one project served 4 residential units.

The ePIPE process minimizes digging up on the customer’s property or to dig across the roadway.

The lead pipes in these projects pipes were lined and cured in the approved 2 hour curing time frame. Inspections took place using a micro camera and water was restored, all in a day’s work. In addition to the placement of the internal coating at least 2 previously unknown customer side pipe leaks were repaired “in-place” as part of the ePIPE process.

During these projects temperatures fell to -7°C (19°F) and on at least one day never rose above freezing.