Failure Analysis of Plumbing Systems in Corrosive Waters

Plumbing systems in commercial buildings tend to have a long life, as City Water is usually treated to reduce the corrosion rate of steel and copper components. However, occasionally City Water can be corrosive to plumbing materials, dramatically reducing their service life. This paper documents various Failure Analysis investigations where corrosive water has caused premature failure of plumbing materials by mechanisms such as copper pitting corrosion, brass dezincification, and galvanic corrosion of steel, and explores the link between the water chemistry and these corrosion mechanisms.