TPI January 2014

business & market news

Project to reduce groundwater abstraction More than 19km of GPS PE Pipe’s blue polyethylene pipe has been successfully installed in West Berkshire, UK, as part of Optimise’s £10mn project for Thames Water to reduce groundwater abstraction at Speen water treatment works. to the installation of a new pipeline between Tilehurst and Cold Ash Service Reservoir, near Newbury, via Thames Water’s existing water booster station in Bradfield. Optimise has completed installation of the pipeline, and the entire scheme was due to be handed over to Thames Water by the end of 2013. crossings of the River Kennet and several minor roads and tracks. GPS supplied SDR11 and SDR17 355mm pipe to address variations in water pressure along the route, which ranges from 4 bar to 11-12 bar after the pumping station. The SDR11 pipe was used for directional drilling where additional pipe strength is required for this type of installation.

The network improvement project aims to support the environmental condition of the River Kennet and reduce groundwater abstraction by an average of 4.5mn litres per day, thanks

The pipeline follows the route of the M4 motorway, and involved directional drilling under the main carriageway, along with another major road, three

GPS also supplied bespoke transition pieces to accommodate multiple changes in pipe wall thickness, and SlimFlange adaptors for connections to metal gate valves. The use of SlimFlanges meant that 300mm valves were used, as opposed to 355mm if standard stub flanges had been used. Lengths of pipe were butt-fused together in order to create the 19.2km pipeline, maximising the welded length whilst minimising mechanical joints. Once operational, the new pipeline will provide an additional potable water supply route for Newbury to safeguard continuity of supply.

GPS supplied more than 19km of polyethylene pipe for the project

GPS PE Pipe Systems – UK oxana.latypova@gpsuk.com www.gpsuk.com

Product Environmental Footprint pilot scheme TEPPFA (The European Plastics Pipes and Fittings Association) has been selected by the European Commission to participate in the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) pilot scheme, which measures environmental performance throughout a product’s lifecycle. TEPPFA will lead the technical secretariat for one of the pilot scheme projects, supported by project partners Plastics Europe, EuPR, Vito and the PEX Association. The announcement is part of the EU Single Market for Green Products (SMGP) – an initiative that seeks to harmonise the methodology to measure the environmental performance of products and organisations. “To boost sustainable growth consumers need to be able to identify genuinely green products and companies, and this is an important step in that direction,” said Dr Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment.

there was serious effort. I look forward to working closely with volunteers. Reliable and comparable information about the environmental impacts will bring increased transparency and will build trust with consumers, business partners and investors.” TEPPFA is a group of 15 European national associations and 11 direct member companies across Europe. Member companies directly employ 40,000 people and produce 3mn tons of plastic pipes annually, representing an annual turnover of €12,000bn.

Tony Calton, general manager of TEPPFA, explained that the association has for several years been at the forefront of developing Life Cycle Analyses and Environmental Product Declarations for the plastic pipes industry, and believes that this has contributed to its success with selection for the PEF pilot scheme.

“And it’s clear from the 90 applications we received that industry too is on board. I would like to thank all applicants for the excellent proposals – it was extremely hard to make a choice and I do realise that behind each proposal

TEPPFA – Belgium info@teppfa.org www.teppfa.eu

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Tube Products International January 2014

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