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On a regular basis the professional engineers at Ontario Concrete Pipe Association are presented with specifications for drainage systems that do little more than reference a national or provincial manufacturing standard for a particular type of pipe. Typically in Ontario, the referenced standards are developed by the Canadian Standards Association or Ontario Provincial Standards. Design […]
The following statement is made in a research paper that was presented at both the Transportation Association of Canada Annual Conference in Halifax in September 2010, and again at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. in January 2011. “Improved Flow Characteristics: Another advantage of HPDE culvert relining is the potential to increase […]
No one likes a drippy faucet at home, so why should a drippy pipe underground be any different? Municipalities in Ontario are paying far greater attention to the state of their sewers. The cliché, “out of sight, out of mind” is not an accepted practice anymore. There are several reasons why a sewer pipe with […]
When it comes to selecting different materials for pipe systems (i.e. sewers or culverts), the common choices are concrete, steel, and plastic. Each material has a history, and in terms of pipe applications, each carries a different track record for serviceability. “Serviceability” is defined as a period of time for which a product can service […]
The South Branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library closed abruptly on a Friday afternoon in March 2009 due to drainage system structural concerns as a result of settlement of the foundation. A librarian turned people away at the entrance. “How long will you be closed?” the people asked. “Forever,” said the librarian. Then she […]
Pipe products and drainage systems that do not meet the Ontario Building Code (OBC) are being promoted to engineers and contractors across the province of Ontario on a regular basis. Similarly, pipe products that do not meet the National Plumbing Code of Canada (NPC) are also being promoted across the country. Engineers occasionally unwittingly specify […]
When specifying pipe material for pipelines and culverts, the design engineer, contractor, and eventual owner of the infrastructure system should consider the durability of that system. This is especially important within the context of designing and constructing buried infrastructure that is sustainable. Reusing products and materials is a fundamental element of sustainable development that results […]
An article in the September 2010 issue of Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine (ES&E) by Dr. Mark Knight sheds some light on a pipe material called bituminous fibre pipe, commonly referred to as black fibre pipe. This pipe is no longer produced, however many municipalities in both Canada and the U.S. are currently dealing with […]
Besides “manholes” being renamed “maintenance holes” in the mid 1990’s, the standards for precast concrete MH’s in Ontario have not needed to change significantly…until now. Maintenance holes (MH’s) have been a critical part of sanitary sewer systems for hundreds of years. In addition to providing access to buried pipe for inspection and maintenance, design engineers […]
Sewer pipes not only function as a conduit to transport stormwater or wastewater, but they must also have the load-carrying capacity for whatever is built above them. One fundamental difference between a rigid pipe like concrete, versus a flexible pipe like plastic or corrugated steel; is that a concrete pipe can be reinforced to accommodate […]
