Designing with and specifying PE pipe

Municipal and consulting engineers have a new American Water Works Association (AWWA) resource to help prepare plans and specifications for high-density polyethylene (HDPE or PE) pipe projects, as well as two opportunities to attend a workshop about the manual.

The AWWA recently published Manual 55, PE Pipe – Design and Installation. The manual provides engineers and contractors with information to aid in the design, specification, procurement, installation, and understanding of HDPE pipe water systems.

The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) will host a workshop at the AWWA Annual Conference and Exhibition on June 24, 2007, in Toronto, and at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) International Pipeline Conference on July 8, 2007, in Boston. To register online for the “Introduction to the New AWWA Manual 55 on Design and Installation of Polyethylene Pipe” workshop, visit or www.asce.org/conferences.

The AWWA workshop in Toronto will feature Mike Boyle, P.E., a project manager for the city of Austin, Texas, providing the introduction. Both programs will feature contributions from speakers discussing pipe manufacturing, resin supply, distribution, and fusion equipment suppliers.

The workshop also will include the following:

• engineering properties of PE piping systems for municipal applications;
• how to select pressure class and how to calculate working pressure rating;
• how to calculate loads and how to establish minimum and maximum cover depths;
• joining methods, how to connect PE pipes to existing systems, and how to maintain and repair the PE systems; and
• PE pipe installation for underground installations, hydrostatic testing, and disinfecting.

In addition, trenchless applications will be reviewed at the ASCE workshop in Boston.

CEU and PDH credits will be offered by both AWWA (0.25 CEU) and ASCE, and participants will receive an AWWA M55 manual, PPI Handbook of PE Pipe, and PowerPoint presentations. The PPI Handbook of PE Pipe is also available for purchase at PPI’s website: www.plasticpipe.org.