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| June Issue Post Date 6/15/06 | www.mcelroy.com | |
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Note From The Editor Some 12,000 years ago Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula of what is now the State of Florida . When Juan Ponce de Leon showed up in the early 1500’s looking for the ‘fountain of youth’, the Indians told him, “The first rule of the land is to respect it.” (Ok, I made that last quote up) nevertheless, they fought over the land so I’m pretty sure they told de Leon something along those lines. In any case, Florida has a long history of preserving and respecting its lands. Environmental issues have always been a top priority for the state along with remarkable engineering, which was needed to deal with Florida ’s unique topography and delicate environment. That’s why it’s no surprise to me that Florida is embracing polyethylene pipe for its water and sewer infrastructure at a pace that will make your head spin. Forward-thinking cities like Jacksonville and St. Petersburg are undergoing long term rehabilitation projects that entail large scale polyethylene use. Smaller communities across the state are using it as a cost effective way to keep up with the water demands of an ever growing population and everyone is recognizing the environmental advantages of the pipe. I recently had the opportunity to follow one such project for the city of Port St. Lucie on the eastern coast of Florida . “The water projects in Florida that are calling for polyethylene, are increasing every quarter,” said Randy Conrad of Ferguson Industrial Plastics. Ferguson supplied the pipe and fusion equipment along with the fusion operator for the project. In fact they have over twenty fusion technicians and several million dollars worth of fusion equipment within the state of Florida that are? constantly at work. “Big regions of Florida are either rehabilitating their infrastructure, upsizing it, or expanding it to deal with the population growth and environmental concerns that have been going on for quite some time,” he added. “A lot of water companies are taking advantage of trenchless applications for speed of construction along with minimal disturbance to their communities and HDPE (high density polyethylene) goes hand in hand with those construction methods.” The project is six miles each of 42-inch potable water, 36-inch reuse or reclaimed water, and 30-inch forced main sewer line. One interesting portion of the project is a horizontal direction drilling application where engineers decided to protect the polyethylene lines with up-sized carrier pipes which are also made of polyethylene. “Engineers are starting to use more and more trenchless applications when designing underground infrastructure,” said Conrad. “At the same time they’re falling in love with the environmental advantages and material characteristics of the pipe, in fact, the nickname for HDPE in Florida is ‘drill pipe’ and as its use grows, the state of Florida is really going to reap the benefits of having a superior system.”
McElroy In The News
Oil of the 21 st Century Low runoff means limited water supplies for southern N.M. U.N. says a fifth of the world lacks clean water to drink despite abundant supplies PIERRE, S.D. -- Dry conditions have forced the state of South Dakota to issue shutoff orders to 54 irrigators on the Cheyenne River and tributaries upstream of... Click here to read the entire story! Las Vegas bans outdoor watering Links North American Society for Trenchless Technology American Water Works Association American Society of Civil Engineers Foundation Newsletter Links Water World - Receive news from WaterWorld, Industrial Waterworld and Water & Wastewater International. Water Tech Online North American Society of Trenchless Technology Insider and Pipeline Newsletter ISCO Pipeline Newsletter If you would like a link to your newsletter posted in McElroy Connections, contact Drew L. Wilson at 918-831-9286 or McElroy Connections welcomes your feedback, story ideas, tips, or anything else related to PE Pipe and Pipe fusion. Please email your comments and story ideas to: FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe, visit http://www.mcelroy.com/fusion/forms/newsletter.htm McElroy Connections is published by McElroy Manufacturing Inc. The information contained within each issue is meant as a service to our customers, distributors, and those involved with Polyethylene Pipe applications.
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