You replace them by running new service lines using directional boring, falling back to trenching when directional boring is not an option. In the case of waste and sewer lines, you can run an epoxy coating internally (“relining”) versus replacement, which has cost savings ($100-$250/foot of pipe).

Broadly speaking, maintaining this infrastructure is expensive because the need for labor is unavoidable and it is labor intensive.

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brianwawok 8 days ago | parent | next [-]

Directional what? When Chicago replaces pipes, they dig the street up, put in pipes, and lay down a new street. I’ve literally seen them do this, then one month later tear up the same street for a natural gas pipe project .

These Chicago pipes are end of life and need replaced. They have been working on it for at least 20 years.

*in theory they claim to be working hard to better coordinate this between agencies.

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toomuchtodo 8 days ago | parent | next [-]

https://youtu.be/jFTzwGv1sUg

https://youtu.be/t3hTQDfZrfk

https://youtu.be/BKGizzPJIqE

https://www.leadsafechicago.org/lead-service-line-replacemen...

> Replacing a lead service line with a new copper service means running the new line from the water main in the street all the way into the house. There are two ways that can be done. With open trench replacements, a trench is dug from the home through the parkway to install the new service and access the water main. Trenchless construction runs the new service to the main underground, causing less disturbance to the surrounding area. The type of procedure performed will depend on several factors specific to each replacement.

https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/water/general...

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bluGill 5 days ago | parent [-]

Meanwhile everyone else has moved to plastic pipes which will last longer, are cheaper, and leach no metals (microplastics don't seem to come from water lines frome what I can tell, but I'm looking for confirmation)

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toomuchtodo 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

Copper lasts ~20 years longer than plastic, making copper a superior choice for the longevity needed for the use case. Also, copper has anti microbial properties and rarely leaches in material quantities unless the water has a low pH.

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cyberax 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

Copper is also susceptible to pinhole corrosion if iron gets into the pipes.

There are no similarly catastrophic failure scenarios for HDPE. HDPE also doesn't need plasticizers, so it should be safer than PVC.

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bluGill 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://www.teppfa.eu/media/industry-studies/meta-study-100-...

plastic is often rated at less but that is because they don't bother to test any longer, when properly installed and used plastic should last longer than copper.

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SlightlyLeftPad 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

But has the tradeoff of using lead solder at every joint

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frosted-flakes 5 days ago | parent [-]

Lead solder hasn't been used in the US since 1986, when it was banned by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

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Scoundreller 5 days ago | parent [-]

“Lead free” isn’t zero lead.

> In 1986, Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), prohibiting the use of lead in pipes, and solder and flux on products used in public water systems that provide water for human consumption. Lead-free was defined as solder and flux with no more than 0.2% lead and pipes with no more than 8%.

> In 2011, Congress passed the RLDWA, which revised the definition of lead free and took effect in 2013. Lead free was now defined as the lead content of the wetted surfaces of plumbing products as a weighted average of no greater than 0.25% for products that contact water intended for consumption, and 0.2% for solder and flux.

https://www.workingpressuremag.com/epa-final-lead-free-rulin...

A lot of municipal water systems have done more recent (but by no means required) improvements to the water itself to “coat” the lead in supply lines. Beyond just pH control, like orthophosphate. Most just in the last decade or so.

For Chicago, it’s an active project

> Polyphosphate is being removed because recent studies have shown that it may negatively impact lead corrosion control.

> Polyphosphate was initially added with the orthophosphate to mask discoloration of the water from metals such as iron or manganese.

https://villageofalsip.org/Chicago%20Department%20of%20Water...

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akoboldfrying 5 days ago | parent [-]

> Lead-free was defined as ... pipes with no more than 8%.

This thread has had a lot of twists and turns, but I wasn't expecting this one. Yikes.

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Scoundreller 5 days ago | parent [-]

A lot of brass fittings and fixtures with lead in them. Makes it easier to machine.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of no-name Amazon and aliexpress plumbing fixtures still have a lot of lead in them. Keeps your cutting tool/machining costs down.

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bluGill 5 days ago | parent [-]

Even big box stores that are careful sell a lot of high lead plumbing parts - they are just marked not for potable water and sold for use with gas pipes.

	▲	Scoundreller 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Can still get full lead solder for similar reasons if you’re a cranky old plumber. Probably can’t get away with using it in new builds but anything else, I’m sure it got used regularly well after the 1986 “ban” and still today.

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coryrc 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Contaminants can migrate from soil through plastic, which is a problem in the rust belt, but can be dealt with an aluminum barrier layer. What is harder to avoid is endocrine-disrupting plasticizers, because of regulatory capture.

https://www.pe100plus.com/PE-Pipes/Technical-guidance/model/...

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stockresearcher 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> in theory they claim to be working hard to better coordinate this between agencies.

This is true. For the private sector, it works pretty well. Road digging permits are posted on their webpage 6+ months in advance. If you see one on a section of street you planned to do work on, you are allowed to piggyback on the project and share the cost. If you don’t, you pay the entire cost. So there is huge incentive to coordinate. But city agencies? Not quite so incentivized.

	▲	Spooky23 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		There’s lots of exceptions. The lead pipe hysteria and low pressure gas replacement is exempt from all of that. Some states are more schizophrenic than others. New York is simultaneously mandating replacement with high pressure gas mains that require biannual inspection and banning gas lines. Lead pipes are an engineering and chemistry issue. Pipes that are functioning properly don’t need replacement.

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quickthrowman 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

They aren’t trenching through yards from the street to the house to replace water service lines, they’re digging a pit where the water main is and directional boring from the street to the house and installing a new service line in the borehole.

‘Horizontal directional drilling’ is the more technical term, directional boring is more of a trade name.

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pengaru 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

The Chicagoland area is constantly rebuilding the roads regardless of what the pipes are doing... when it's warm enough anyways.

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peterbecich 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I don't know that epoxy coating is used at the municipal level. Pipe bursting with high-density polyethylene is the typical solution to avoid re-trenching municipal sewer pipes. Epoxy liners, epoxy coatings and polyurethane coatings are typical for a single property.

I would argue pipe bursting is the best trench-less solution for any place, but it is more destructive than those other three options.

	▲	mikepurvis 5 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I had my residential waste pipe lined with a fibreglass/resin sheath about a year ago. Inserting it was a process involving a lot of work on endoscopes and then the liner itself was adhered to the old pipe using a bladder filled with hot water. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cured-in-place_pipe It was over CA$10k to get it done, but the cost of trenching that line could have been 3-4x the amount + an unacceptable risk to the foundation of the house from destabilizing the dirt around it.
	▲	hippo22 6 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I know epoxy coating is used in large hydro power dams, so I have to assume it's used for municipal sewer lines as well.
	▲	Workaccount2 5 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		It's somewhat funny because most epoxy is just straight BPA. Yes, that BPA.