Wooden Water Line Pipe

The firefighters would cut a hole in the water main and use a hand pumper to pull the water out of the pipe to fight a fire.

Wooden water line pipe.

The wooden pipes were apparently laid on back of spruce from ninth to tenth between october 1811 and october 1812 according to a report from the department s archives. City of baltimore wooden water pipe early 19th century remember water matters j. Long abandoned wooden pipes. A wooden water pipe that dates back to world war i.

Wood s natural insulation eliminates the need to clad or bury the pipeline to combat. Water department crews found 200 year old wooden mains while replacing a line in center city. The more primitive are log wood pipes hollowed out tree trunks or logs. Although each year the miles of wooden pipe used dwindled the last year portland used wooden pipe was 1953.

The wood absorbs the water and expands against the steel restraining bands creating a watertight pipeline. The last wooden pipe in the city was taken out of service in 1859 but some were left in the ground. Wooden pipes likely remain buried in many older communities but rarely is one dug up utility says. That means wooden water pipes served the city for almost a century.

Scott shipe january 2015 video production questions contact js. Buried underground and filled with water wooden pipes can last for decades or centuries. Photo courtesy of the philadelphia water department historical collection. The last year wooden pipes were installed in portland was 1919.

Since wooden pipes had no salvage value they were often abandoned underground when replaced by metal. There are two main kinds of wooden water pipe. The interior of an old wood stave pipe found a week or so ago at the charleston water system s hanahan plant during installation of a new 42 inch water main crossing the road at the plant.