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For many years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faced challenges from a lack of water resources. While KSA’s cities have addressed this issue by relying on alternative methods to meet supply needs, including seawater desalination and private household underground water tanks, further challenges have emerged in providing water for residential and commercial usage that is safe.
A combination of past water rationing and extended periods of travel that leave water pipes empty and dry for prolonged intervals and the private underground tank use have led to measurable and worrisome insufficiencies in water quality. The problem was clearly spelled out in a study by King Abdulaziz University[i] which detailed the findings from a five-month examination of the chemical and bacterial contamination levels of drinking water in Jeddah.
First it is important to note that using seawater from which dissolved salt has been removed for drinking water involves a series of steps – pretreatment, desalination, stabilization, mixing, storage and distribution. In this process, chlorine is used effectively to control biofouling agents and microbiological regrowth. But over time, chlorine can also degrade the inner walls of some piping materials and leave the system vulnerable to corrosion.
In addition, the supplemental treatment systems entail point-of-use (POU) purification units to further treat desalinated water to a level of safety that that is also acceptable in terms of taste, odor and appearance. But the study found a high degree of variability in the ability of purification units on the market to achieve safety objectives.
In a region with such complicated dynamics for the basics of providing potable water supply, the choice of the right piping material for water delivery must be made with the highest degree of intention. These are the reasons:
- Not all piping materials are inherently resistant to the corrosive effects of long-term chlorine exposure from water disinfection.
- Not all piping materials are capable of minimizing bacterial growth and reducing biofilm health risks.
However, there is one material specifiers can have confidence in with respect to the above. CPVC, and in particular FlowGuard® CPVC, delivers safe and clean water. FlowGuard CPVC is listed for use in potable water supplies and residential plumbing applications by all major international agencies including NSF International, Kiwa and WRAS.
Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh employs the use of FlowGuard® CPVC. It was selected in part to its chlorine resistance and ease of installation.
Thus, households and businesses with FlowGuard piping systems can rest assured that chlorine disinfection will not have detrimental effects on their plumbing systems. And because FlowGuard CPVC pipe has smooth, nonporous internal surfaces, it will never pit, scale or corrode, which contributes to reducing biofilm health risks.
Want to know more about providing clean, safe water with FlowGuard CPVC? Our team of piping system consultants is ready to help.
[i] Maged H. Hussein and Saleh F. Magram, “Domestic Water Quality in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,” Journal of King Abdulaziz University, Vol. 23, No. 1 (2012): pp. 207-223.