I refer to the news reports on the broken water pipelines at the Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development Ministry and an earlier incident of the same nature at the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya.

Lack of maintenance on the water pipes has been cited as the cause of the problems. However, I believe that the failure of the water pipes is most likely due to either faulty installation of the pipes or due to the selection of the wrong types of pipes meant for other applications.

Water pipes are not known to fail within short periods eg, two years after installation unless they are subjected to external mechanical impacts or improperly buried underground and subjected to vehicular dynamic loads. Also, water pipes are not subjected to intense pulsating internal pressures as in hydraulic pipes and hoses used in machining and equipment.

However, there are established and documented codes and practices for the installation of water pipelines formulated by industry associations and water regulatory authorities. These codes of practice prescribe the selection of pipes with respect to variables like diameter, wall thickness, water temperatures, pressures, installation procedures, joining and welding, fittings, making of bends etc.

It is important that these codes and practices are adhered to by the plumbing contractors.

This writer had an experience with a plumbing contractor who installed a two-inch diameter UPVC plastic water pipe for a total length of about fifty meters on the flat concrete roof of a factory building connecting the water tank to an electric furnace within the factory.

The codes of practice and installation prohibit the use of UPVC pipes where their installation exposes them to sunlight (UV radiation) which causes premature failure of pipes by degradation of the plastic material by UV light. For such exposed installation, the codes allow only galvanised steel pipes or other higher quality plastic pipes like HDPE pipes.

Any investigation into the failure of water pipes should look into whether the codes of practice for good workmanship have been implemented. The issue of maintenance may turn out to be a red herring in these instances.