Palo Alto focuses on decades of superior utility service

In 2012, the City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) in Calif., entered its 20th year of a 25-year project to replace 75 miles of 8- to 16-inch water distribution lines. The badly corroded cast iron pipes, installed between 1896 and 1930, are at the end of their useful life or too small to supply adequate flow. Since 1993, contractors have replaced nearly three miles of pipes per year, and should complete the work in 2018. “An important milestone for this project was when our city council authorized funding for the use of more expensive, high-quality HDPE 4710 potable water pipe,” says