Cast iron pipes in at least 600 towns and counties are more than a century old, according to industry estimates. And though Congress banned lead water pipes three decades ago, more than 10 million older ones remain, ready to leach lead and other contaminants into drinking water from something as simple as a change in water source. The term water pipe is an umbrella term that encompasses any smoking pipe that utilizes water to cool down smoke. By definition, water pipes technically include bongs, dab rigs, and bubblers. Bongs are best identified for their designated use with cannabis, as opposed to dab rigs which are intended for concentrates. Bongs also differ from bubblers in that they are typically held with two hands and can be identified by their removable downstems and bowl pieces.
“If a product does not meet the requirements of a standard, it will not pass,” said Dave Purkiss, the organization’s general manager of water systems. Plastic groups have criticized the studies, saying they focus on older generations of plastic piping and conflate different types of plastics. They also stress that their pipes are independently tested by the third-party organization. Right, the remains of a lead water pipe removed from the ground in Lansing, Mich.
The first is the release of chemicals into water from the pipe material, a process called leaching, which has been documented in several studies. The second route, called permeation, involves pollutants such as gasoline that can seep from groundwater or soils through the walls of plastic pipes, which has been noted in reports by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Water Research Foundation . And finally, plastic pipes exposed to the high heat of wildfires are at risk for melting and other thermal damage.
With these pipes being one of the most popular ways to smoke, there are thousands of different types for you to choose from. A percolator is designed to diffuse hot smoke through the water inside the chamber of a bong to delivery smoother, cooler, and less harsh hits. There are dozens of different types of percs, and each one offers different advantages and disadvantages.
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund provides low-interest loans to state and local drinking water infrastructure projects. The EPA provides an allotment for each state based on its Drinking Water Needs Survey that is conducted every four years, and states in turn provide a 20% funding match. From 2013 to 2018, the DWSRF program water pipes grew from just over $2 billion in 2013 to nearly $3 billion in 2018, providing loans of increasing sizes to states. Federal appropriations for the DWSRF helped boost the size of the program from FY17 to FY20. In 2018, the median size of a loan was about $1 million, and one quarter of the projects were co-funded with another source, including funding from the U.S.
Worse, high water pressure can damage water-supplied appliances, such as your washing machine and dishwasher. Copper pipes tend to expand as hot water passes through and transfers some of its heat to them. (Copper is bothmalleable and ductile.) In tight quarters, copper hot-water lines can expand and then noisily rub against your home’s hidden structural features — studs, joists, support brackets, etc. — as it contracts.
Utilities are also developing innovative smart water technologies such as leak detection, seismic resilient pipes, smart water quality monitoring, and real time data sensors, just to name a few. These technologies improve resilience by allowing utilities to respond to changing climate conditions, improve efficiency of operations by reducing water losses, and deliver real-time data that allows for interactive decision-making. Kansas City, Mo., says there are no more known lead pipes that it’s responsible for, but says it doesn’t know what materials are on the customer-owned end of the line.
Heat can be used to join polypropylene pipes, instead of chemical solvents or leaded joint materials. The only way to know for sure if your drinking water is contaminated with lead glass pipes is to have it tested by a state-certified commercial laboratory. Contact your local water utility or your local public health department and ask for their list of recommended labs.
Some material-related trends have emerged in examinations of specific contamination routes, however. Pipe material-related factors beyond those in the principles document can also contaminate drinking water. In March the anticipated surge of lead-pipe-replacement work prompted a group of 19 health and environmental advocacy organizations headed by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council to publish a set of guiding principles for lead-line replacement. Amid numerous recommendations related to community involvement, safety and economic justice, the document takes a stand against swapping in pipes made of plastic and calls for copper lines instead. Polypropylene pipes are another good choice and are less expensive than copper pipes. Polypropylene is a durable, rigid plastic with less likelihood of chemical leaching compared to PEX.