Eight good reasons for ductile cast iron pipe systems

Safe – sustainable – future-proof

Products manufactured in Europe not only mean security of supply in the event of pandemics, crises and wars. They are backed up by regional production, short distances and forward-looking partners who ensure that the best water is transported by network operators to consumers with maximum safety. This is particularly true for ductile cast iron pipes, fittings and valves, which are manufactured in Europe not only from primary raw materials, but also from secondary raw materials – scrap. At the beginning of 2020, the members of EADIPS®/FGR® e. V. set out to make these and other advantages tangible. In the initiative “The best ground – a solid reason” for water and soil protection (www.solid-reason.org), the economic, social and technical advantages of European ductile cast iron pipes, fittings and valves are briefly and concisely presented in eight points against the background of the various challenges we face (Fig. 1).

The best reason – a good reason to protect water and soil: Eight good reasons for using ductile iron pipe systems.

The European Green Deal

The challenges we all face are well summarised in the introduction to the European Green Deal [1] (Fig. 2). It states:

“Climate change and environmental degradation are existential threats to Europe and the world. With the European Green Deal, we want to make the transition to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy that

• has zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
• decouples its growth from resource use
• does not leave people or regions behind”.

On 14 July 2021, the European Commission presented proposals to achieve these objectives and make the European Green Deal a reality.

The European Green Deal [1] focuses on „mobilising industry for a clean and circular economy“.

Eight reasons, eight topics

Our soil is more than just the ground on which we stand, move and live. It contains so much more: nutrients, water, air and all the infrastructure on which our lives depend. Whether it is drinking water pipes, sewers or electricity cables, without these essential supply and disposal networks, our lives would not look as they do or be as comfortable as they are. That is why it is important to use durable raw materials and safe materials in combination with sustainable concepts when constructing water supply and wastewater disposal systems. We work with ductile cast iron pipes, fittings and valves because the future can only be built on a good foundation today.

Cast iron pipe systems ensure fresh drinking water from source to home.

Höchste Sicherheit
Ductile iron pipe systems are more than simple components for our drinking water and waste water networks, for snowmaking facilities or power plant pipelines. They guarantee high security in all areas. On the one hand they are durable and robust and therefore optimum products for reliable pipe systems. On the other hand, European production also offers social and economic security. ​

Pipeline networks should guarantee stable supply and disposal for 100 years and more. During this time, networks are subject to many changes. The stresses imposed on pipe systems in the soil can alter on account of construction projects or increased traffic volumes. Soil loss caused by heavy rainfall can expose pipe systems beneath. Earth movements due to mining, earthquakes or landslides can alter these stresses massively. This is fine if the pipe system still functions robustly under these changes and the material properties are preserved. The concept of ductile cast iron pipe systems covers more than just the pipes for our drinking water The interplay of pipe, fitting and valve represents an equally important element (Fig. 4). A system is only as secure as its individual components installed upstream and downstream. The use of high-quality materials in valves and fittings plays an massive role here. Safety fittings such as double eccentric butterfly valves, needle valves or ball valves with their corresponding drives (e.g. brake-and-lift units), make sure that pressure surges are compensated, thus keeping the equipment as a whole secure. It is a matter of all components working together. Because it is only with a dependable, sustainable and robust pipe system (pipes, fittings and valves) that a good future can be built.

The pipe system is only as safe as its individual components: Fittings, valves and pipes – all made of ductile cast iron.

#reduceplastic
Plastic is ubiquitous and it is difficult to conceive of our everyday life without it. But we are learning more and more about the growing risk which plastic represents for us and our environment (Fig. 6). For our good ground we recommend pipe systems made of ductile cast iron.

Already around 40% of the supply pipelines for drinking water in Germany are made from different types of plastic [2]. These drinking water pipes are recyclable – they can be used to make other pipes and other products, such as park benches and foils. However, there are limits to the use of recycled plastic in drinking water pipes: The use of recycled plastic is limited to the use of recirculated material (leftovers and offcuts) that is generated by the manufacturer itself, is not contaminated and has not yet been placed on the market [3]. Cast iron, on the other hand, is 100% recyclable at the same quality level without any loss in value. This means that not only the recycling economy, but also the circular economy can be realised – even in the drinking water sector!

Locally sourced mains water supplied via the municipal drinking water network is good for the environment. Mineral and table water, by contrast, is filled into bottles and transported by road, which requires a thousand times more energy than is needed for the provision of mains water from the drinking water network. The use of ductile cast iron drinking fountains, such as those used in Berlin for example, supplies thirsty people with fresh, cool drinking water quickly, simply and free of charge and sustainably supports the environmentally friendly consumption of drinking water. The drinking fountains can be used as “refill stations” and so combat the mountains of plastic bottle waste.

Plastics pose an increasing risk to us and our environment. Companies will soon have to integrate aspects of this pollution into their business and sustainability strategies.

Cooler cities
Nowhere else is global warming, and the rising temperatures associated with it, so clearly felt as in our towns and cities. In the summer months, surfaces sealed with asphalt and concrete do not cool down and, in case of heavy rainfall, are unable to absorb water.

The consequences of this are heat islands in the summer, flooding and inundated basements when it rains. Meaning that life in the city is becoming not only more difficult but also less healthy. The solution lies in so-called Sponge Cities, where space is left in the ground for rainwater and for trees: space to breathe, to grow and to store water (Fig. 7). So that green areas and trees can cool our cities and make them habitable even during longer periods of drought or heat. For these sponge cities, space is needed underground. In pipe trenches with robust and root-resistant piping systems, this space can be made available to a sufficient extent. Ductile iron pipes with their flexible joints and with a cement mortar coating are robust and root-resistant and so are an important key to cooler cities.

The R&D project “BoRSiS – soil pipe system as an innovative element of climate-adjusted urban drainage”, which was launched on 1st October 2021 with the participation of EADIPS®/FGR®, pursues the further implementation of the sponge city principle in the street space [4]. The objective of BoRSiS is to use the pipe trenches of pipes under pavements or streets (during heavy rainfall) and to release water with a time delay (during dry periods) to irrigate urban trees. By using the pipe trench, an extended storage area for rainwater and the root zone is available without the need for additional surface area (compared to infiltration trenches).

Shade-giving trees play a very important role in the Sponge City principle. This requires an improvement in the site conditions of existing trees, which are often planted in much too small pits and are therefore unable to do their ‚job‘ properly or at all.

Regional manufacturing
Durable, recyclable and regional: our cast iron pipe systems are not only sustainable in the production of the material but also in terms of transport because they are produced in our European factories (Fig. 8). So we are providing important jobs for the region and avoiding global transport routes. But a sustainable production process offers even more advantages: we can ensure that our claims to environmentally friendly production continue to be safeguarded and all stages of production are independently optimised. In doing this, we are building on the many years of expertise of our colleagues, which is substantially responsible for the high quality of our products. This means that ductile iron pipe systems, produced in Europe, stand for more than simply a reliable supply of drinking water.

For local partners, such as the local construction company, reliability and trust are a matter of honour.

Short distances
Regionality offers the invaluable advantage of short distances – for consultation, for decision-making, for collaboration, but also for logistics. This means that global price fluctuations, delivery difficulties or bottlenecks are not part of our everyday experience. Our work and our logistics are just as reliable, robust and sustainable as our products are.

But short distances also make a fast ordering and delivery process possible. In case of need, customers can obtain any pipes, fittings or valves that they are lacking either by collecting them themselves or by having them delivered promptly, all without delay or red tape.

Reliable partners for advice, decisionmaking and cooperation are an invaluable asset.

Municipal partners

The Good Reason Initiative is supported by municipal partners who identify with its objectives. The first partners to join the “Good Reason” initiative for soil and water protection were the municipality of Hall in Tirol and Hall AG as the water supply company (Fig. 10). The partners attach particular importance to “short distances” and the “cycle of resources”. By procuring local products and offering local services, they not only practice exemplary environmental protection, but also ensure a safe water supply for the population.

Partners with good reason: Presentation of the certificates to the municipality of Hall in Tirol and Hall AG as the water supply company.

Summary

In addition to the war in Ukraine, the coronavirus pandemic has shown us the impact of the breakdown of global supply chains. In addition, the European Green Deal poses major challenges to both the economy and the operators of supply and disposal networks in order to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, to decouple growth from resource use and to leave no one, neither people nor region, in the lurch. The members of EADIPS®/FGR® are aware of these challenges and, early on, summarised the essential aspects required for this in eight good reasons and, building on this, launched the initiative “The good ground – a solid reason” and found municipal partners to support the initiative.

Author:
Christoph Bennerscheidt, EADIPS FGR

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