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Dave Dutton
looks up from his
Tulsa World
Newspaper and
proclaims, “The city
of Tulsa is brilliant!”  And
he means it. Dutton, an
engineer with a 38-year history
with McElroy, is overjoyed after
reading the much anticipated article
about the city finally using polyethylene
pipe in its water system. 

Dutton has been a point man trying to make
this happen for longer than he can remember.  He
knows how difficult it can be to encourage engineers
to change their attitudes and preferences for piping
materials, and he has become accustomed to resistance. 
Back in the early 1970’s, Dutton was very much involved in the
missionary work that brought the benefits of PE to the gas industry. 
He knows from practice, that now that Tulsa has used the pipe, they will realize what so many other cities have learned – that HDPE pipe offers economic and environmental advantages that are simply unmatched.

“It’s been a long time coming, but that is the way most municipalities work,” said Dutton.  “Tulsa in particular, has a long record of civil engineering excellence and they aren’t about to put their reputation on the line for something that is not a proven solution.  They’ve done their homework, and now that they have hands on experience with HDPE, our hope is that it will be allowed on the bid for upcoming projects.”

Apparently it will be.  City engineer Anthony Wilkins was quoted in the above mentioned article, saying that HDPE will be used in future water jobs but added an analogy at the end of the article about Tulsa being a big ship that can be slow to turn.

One of the reasons Tulsa chose to try the pipe is that its system suffers from leaks and failures typical to many cities across the country.  From July 2000 through June 2001, the city of Tulsa processed and pumped 39.6 billion gallons of potable water to its citizens and businesses.  In the same time period, they billed consumers for only 34 billion gallons of this water.  The 5.6 billion gallons of unaccounted for water is approximately a 14% loss and below the national average.  The amount of water that disappeared from the city’s piping infrastructure before it passed through the meter, has a market value of $10.4 million.  This astounding figure is just a portion of the all-encompassing expense, not to mention health risks, associated with having a leaky water system.

Already, water mains break an average of 1288 times a year in Tulsa.  As the system continues to age, this number can only grow.  Christmas Day alone in 2000, the city reported 51 breaks.  This expense is overwhelming when one considers the amount of manpower and equipment it takes to first find a leak, excavate the ground, repair the line, repair the street or lawn and settle the property damage liabilities.  The excavation alone for a repair under a roadway ranges between $2500 and $5000.  One can only estimate that expenses for leak repairs are in the millions.

“This pilot project for the city of Tulsa is a catalyst that will bring HDPE into our system in a big way,” said Dutton.  “Once polyethylene is tried, it is hard to argue with its benefits.”

Still growing after all these years
McElroy is now a significant contributor for Water Online which is the leading online resource for engineers and end-users in the water, wastewater, and storm water markets, serving the needs of engineering professionals since 1995.

Unprecedented demand for natural gas is helping fuel pipeline construction worldwide.  This is reflected in Pipeline & Gas Journals latest worldwide survey figures that indicate 144,096 miles of oil and gas pipelines are under construction and planned.  Of these, North American companies are planning, designing and building 46,072 miles of pipelines. 
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Washington, D.C. – A new report from the EPA estimates $202.5 billion is the nationwide capital investment needed to control wastewater pollution for up to a 20-year period. 
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Three congressional democrats have commissioned a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study ways to finance a clean water trust fund. Thus far, the lack of a dedicated revenue source has stalled supporters of a trust fund from moving such legislation. The study is slated to be completed by January 15, 2009.
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Water-saving rules for new homes in Albuquerque area
ALBUQUERQUE -- New homes built in most of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County will be required to have rainwater collection systems under new water-saving standards.
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SRP blocks plans by Yavapai County communities to use river water
PHOENIX -- Three Yavapai County communities have agreed to consider changes to their plans to import groundwater from a regional aquifer in order to protect the Verde River.
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Idaho, Washington announce modeling system for aquifer
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Officials with Idaho and Washington have announced an agreement for a $3.5 million modeling system to chart the effect of taking water from the...
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Nebraska court battle over Republican River tax set to begin
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A trial with millions of dollars and compliance with the Republican River compact at stake was scheduled to begin in Lancaster County District Court. A ruling...
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UN chief urges world to put looming water crisis at top of global agenda
DAVOS, Switzerland -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world recently to put the looming crisis over water shortages at the top of the global agenda this year and...
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