Waterline History Essay

Waterline History Every household has running water for taking showers, cleaning clothes, washing dishes, and many other circumstances. These households get their water through water distribution in which water is pumped in a main line pipe and distributed nationwide. The water is distributed through main line pipes varying in sizes based on the amount of water flow and pressure behind it. The water main is then tapped and a service line, usually ¾”-1” copper, is tied into the house giving you water. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing when this process first started, what type of material they started with, and what is most commonly found today. Water distribution can be traced back to the roman days however, it did not reach the U.S. until the late-1700s early-1800s. The water lines that were first of any known to date in the U.S. were made from a hollowed-out wooden log. Wooden waterlines could also be made out of wooden planks beaten together with a coil of metal, similar to wooden barrels. Wood needs both air and water to rot and by burying the wood pipe underground and filling it with water, the pipes can last up to 50 years. It was recorded in Portland, Oregon …show more content…
Plastic water line is lighter and easier to work with as well as cheaper. These new plastic water lines also have a high life expectancy and a low corrosion rate. Plastic pipe does not collect the sediment on the pipe like cast and ductile. This is because of the low friction in the pipe between the water and pipe. Plastic pipe keeps water flowing without bursts, flooding, or disruptions. There are four different types of plastic water main you can use, C900, C905, C909, and HDPE fuse-able pipe. Since this water line is made from plastic there is no need to wrap this pipe with poly-wrap to prevent corrosion. I see plastic water line becoming the preferred pipe in 5 to 10