Typical cast-iron connection for wood-stave pipe, circa 1931.

Source: Harold E. Babbitt and James J. Doland, Water Supply Engineering, Second Edition (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1931) pp. 404. Courtesy of Raymond D. Hamilton, P.E., D.E.E.

This wooden water main in Fernandina Beach, Florida, is owned by Rayioner Inc., a manufacturer of paper. Water from local wells is fed into this main for delivery to the papermill. It is a 24” dia main, built in 1934. The main is in service 24/7 (as of 2010) and has an operating pressure of approximately 40-50 psi.

Source: Don Arch, John Mandrick and Dave Shortz.

Details of wood-stave pipe construction, circa 1934.

Source: H. K. Barrows, Water Power Engineering, Second Edition (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1934), pp. 378. Courtesy of Raymond D. Hamilton, P.E., D.E.E.

Erection of wood-stave pipe line, circa 1934.

Source: H. K. Barrows, Water Power Engineering, Second Edition (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1934), pp. 379. Courtesy of Raymond D. Hamilton, P.E., D.E.E.

16-foot wood-stave penstock at Copco Plant 2 of California-Oregon Power Company, circa 1934.

Source: H. K. Barrows, Water Power Engineering, Second Edition (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1934), pp. 380. Courtesy of Raymond D. Hamilton, P.E., D.E.E.

Method of connection steel and wood-stave pipes, circa 1934.

Source: H. K. Barrows, Water Power Engineering, Second Edition (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1934), pp. 380. Courtesy of Raymond D. Hamilton, P.E., D.E.E.

Wooden cradles for wood-stave pipe lines, circa 1934.

Source: H. K. Barrows, Water Power Engineering, Second Edition (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1934), pp. 381. Courtesy of Raymond D. Hamilton, P.E., D.E.E.

Substitute materials used in WWII: a shipment of 1,488 feet of 18-inch, 24-inch, 30-inch and 36-inch wooden pipe on one flat car. Weight 70,020 pounds. An equal footage of reinforced concrete pipe weighs 455,412 pounds and requires over ten cars. These pipes, used in place of corrugated iron or reinforced concrete pipes, were made of sections cut from short lengths of wood. Locking of adjacent rings with hardwood dowel pins produced a flexible structure. About 100,000 feet of these wooden pipes were installed in 1942 in drainage culverts, storm sewers and conduits, under highways and at army camps, naval stations, airfields and ordnance plants. Photo date 1943. See article.

Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, reproduction number LC-USE6-D-008208 DLC (b&w film neg.).

Substitute materials used in WWII: interior view of two-foot section of built-up wooden pipe, twenty-four inches in diameter. These pipes, used in place of corrugated iron or reinforced concrete pipes, were made of sections cut from short lengths of wood. About 100,000 feet of these wooden pipes were installed in 1942 in drainage culverts, storm sewers and conduits under highways and at army camps, naval stations, airfields and ordnance plants. Photo date 1943. See article.

Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, reproduction number LC-USE6-D-008207 DLC (b&w film neg.).

Substitute materials used in WWII: wood culverts for steel. Assembly of an emergency sectional wood pipe, twenty-four inches in diameter. These pipes, used in place of corrugated iron or reinforced concrete pipes, were made of sections cut from short lengths of wood. Locking of adjacent rings with hardwood dowel pins produced a flexible structure. About 100,000 feet of these wooden pipes were installed in 1942 in drainage culverts, storm sewers and conduits under highways and at army camps, naval stations, airfields and ordnance plants. Photo date 1943. See article.

Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, reproduction number LC-USE6-D-008206 DLC (b&w film neg.).

Wood water pipe from Arizona. This piece of 6" internal diameter wood water pipe has a long history. Initially, it was used in Jerome, Arizona as a part of a water distribution system for a mining operation. In the mid-1930s, the pipe was removed and re-installed in Sedona's potable water system, where it remained in active service until the early 1960s.

Please note the authentic Muellar corporation stop. This stop was manufactured especially for use with wood water pipe.

Source: Courtesy of Marcus McCutchan of the Sedona office of the Arizona Water Company.

Wood stave water pipe from Colorado. This piece of 10" internal diameter wood stave pipe was used starting in the mid-1950s at the Pandora Mill (Idarado Mining Company) near Telluride, Colorado, in gravity service -- both buried and above ground -- to convey tailings from the mill to the tailings pond. The sand content of the tailings was so high that it was extremely abrasive to the inside surfaces of the pipe. Mining staff had to physically rotate the pipe every few months to move the worn surface to the crown and unworn surface to the invert (flow line). After several years of use, the wood pipe was taken out of service and replaced with lined asbestos cement pipe.

This pipe was made in laying lengths of approximately 18 ft. The bell and spigot joints were gasketless -- when the pipe was wetted during service, the wood would swell, sealing the joints. Redwood, Oregon fir, oak, spruce, or whatever was readily available were used to make wood pipe. Often, the exterior surfaces of the spiral-wound wood pipe was coated with asphaltic materials to slow down corrosion of the windings. Sometimes the wood itself was treated with oils/creosote to lengthen the wood's life expectancy.

Note: wood pipe (log and stave) was used from the 1700s to the mid 1900s for both water and sewage conveyance. It worked well for water service since the wood remained wet all the time -- some is still in service today. For sewer service (especially gravity) the longevity of the wood was often shorter. While the bottom (invert) of the pipe remained wet, the top was dry, causing moisture differences that led the pipe to deteriorate. The corrosive nature of sewage also caused deterioration.

Source: Courtesy of the Idarado Mining Company, Ouray, Colorado.

The two wooden water pipes pictured here are on display at a Museum in Corowa, Australia, apparently used for the town water supply in the late 1800's. They are made with two or more pieces of wood and are bound together with wire.

Also see PDF wth more detailed information.

Source: Geoff Goodfellow, Customer Service and Media Manager, Wingecarribee Shire Council. Thanks also to former Environment and Planning staff member Yvette Cotter, now with the Department of Commerce, for passing on this information.

A Wingecarribee Shire Council road crew unearthed wooden water pipes in 2006 when doing some excavations along Suttor Road in Moss Vale, Australia. They were able to carefully dig out a length that included two intact collars about eighteen feet apart in an almost perfectly preserved section.

We know that when the original Moss Vale water supply began pumping water up to town from the Bong Bong reservoir in 1894, there were around six miles of reticulation pipes of 6, 4 and 3 inch diameter laid around the main streets of Moss Vale. These were cast iron pipes, so the use of wooden pipes remains a bit of a mystery.

This old section of pipe is wrapped in a wire that hasn’t rusted and seems to have been treated with some sort of bitumen. The lads have dug up wooden pipes before, particularly in Bowral around Merrigang Street and also in other parts of Moss Vale.

Also see PDF with more detailed explanation of the excavation.

Source: Geoff Goodfellow, Customer Service and Media Manager, Wingecarribee Shire Council.