Evaluate PVC Water Main Materials in Roadway Projects

Water main breaks within Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) R.O.W. pose significant risks to the Department and stakeholders, including complete road closures, detours, as well as boil water advisories. MDOT is obligated to replace municipal water mains that are impacted by Road and Bridge projects, typically at Project costs. The Department currently only specifies ductile iron water main (DIWM) materials within the influence of its roadways. Rising costs of and supply issues with DIWM in recent years have caused significant project delays. Municipalities are increasingly requesting the use of PVC water main materials within MDOT R.O.W. to maintain material continuity of their facilities. Allowing use of alternative materials could reduce costs and/or delays to the Department. MDOT needs data to address Municipal Engineers and Industry questions on the suitability of allowing PVC water main on MDOT projects. Several factors must be evaluated in comparison to DIWM; the durability and expected design life, historical leakage and breakage rates, cause of failures, the long-term safety of PVC water main materials on public health, and life cycle costs. The research must provide data guidance and recommendations on the advantages and disadvantages of PVC versus DIWM to allow consideration of a change to current policy.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Michigan Department of Transportation

  Van Wagoner Building
  425 W. Ottawa Street
  Lansing, MI  United States  48909
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  2350 Hayward
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109-2125
• Principal Investigators:

  El-Tawil, Sherif

• Start Date: 20260105
• Expected Completion Date: 20270805
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Durability; Failure analysis; Iron alloys; Leakage; Life cycle analysis; Materials selection; Polyvinyl chloride; Water mains
• Geographic Terms: Michigan
• Subject Areas: Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Pipelines; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01995867
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Michigan Department of Transportation
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 17 2026 2:29PM