North American PVC Pipe Standards – Recent Changes

Session 8B
9:30 am

John F. Houle, IPEX, Inc.

Significant changes have occurred to North American standards for PVC and PVCO pipe. This paper discusses the revisions, the rationale for change, and the effects on the industry.

Revisions to the following three American Water Works Association (AWWA) standards have occurred:
1. AWWA C900 for 4- through 12-inch PVC pipe
2. AWWA C905 for 14- through 48-inch PVC pipe
3. AWWA C909 for 4- through 24-inch PVCO pipe

Major areas of revision included:
1. Factor of safety
2. Built-in surge allowance
3. Treatment of occasional surge
4. Treatment of recurring (cyclic) surge

The philosophy of the AWWA subcommittee was to harmonize the PVC standards with each other, with other AWWA thermoplastic standards, and with thermoplastic pressure-pipe standards written by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The primary goals were to facilitate more accurate design of PVC pressure-pipe projects and to allow more precise comparison of thermoplastic pipes covered by different product standards.

In addition, the Canadian Standards Association has reissued its B137.0 series for plastic pip-ing. Included were:
1. Revised B137.3 standard for PVC pipe (with minimal changes)
2. New B137.3.1 standard for PVCO pipe – the new PVCO standard uses similar de-sign concepts as the AWWA C909 standard, but testing requirements are much more thorough.

The primary effects of the new and revised standards will be felt in the design community. These effects will be briefly discussed and then illustrated by a design example that compares previous design approaches to the new methods.

John F. Houle, P.E.
Market Development Manager – Bionax PVCO Pipe