Wooden Water Line Pipe

Long abandoned wooden pipes.

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. The log would be somewhere between 20 to 30 inches in diameter with the bored pipe hole being a mere 3 to 6 inches in diameter. There are two main kinds of wooden water pipe. City of baltimore wooden water pipe early 19th century remember water matters j.

The wood absorbs the water and expands against the steel restraining bands creating a watertight pipeline. 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. Although each year the miles of wooden pipe used dwindled the last year portland used wooden pipe was 1953. Wood s natural insulation eliminates the need to clad or bury the pipeline to combat.

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. Photo courtesy of the philadelphia water department historical collection. After the fire was out they would drive a wooden plug into the water main.

A wooden water pipe that dates back to world war i. The last wooden pipe in the city was taken out of service in 1859 but some were left in the ground. Scott shipe january 2015 video production questions contact js. 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.

Water department crews found 200 year old wooden mains while replacing a line in center city. That means wooden water pipes served the city for almost a century. Wooden pipes likely remain buried in many older communities but rarely is one dug up utility says.