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ePIPE® Team Awarded U.S. Patent for Application of an "In-place" Coating to Protect Underground Pipes Against Water Loss Due to Leaks
[August 29, 2017]

ePIPE® Team Awarded U.S. Patent for Application of an "In-place" Coating to Protect Underground Pipes Against Water Loss Due to Leaks


Pipe Restoration Technologies, LLC (PRT), makers of the ePIPE®, Lead-Free, Leak-Free™ and LeadSmart® product lines, announced that it has been granted U.S. patent #9744561. This patent is related to the ePIPE system of in-place pipe restoration, which provides protection to underground pipes against leaks and harmful lead and copper leaching.

"ePIPE is providing superior solutions in response to real-time issues of providing protection against leaks and reducing the leaching of toxic metals like lead and copper from underground pressurized water supply pipes," said Pipe Restoration Technologies CEO Larry Gillanders. "With some utilities reporting water loss due to leaks at 35 percent or greater, our solution provides a significant opportunity to address water loss. ePIPE applicators save their customers time and money with ePIPE's fast installation. Protecting underground water carrying pipes including lead service lines (LSLs) can be completed in under four hours per line and often with no excavation on the hoe owner's property."



Pipes protected with ePIPE reduce the loss of water and reduce the leaching of toxic lead and copper into drinking water to well below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) cut-off levels. Pipes from as small as 1/2'' in diameter can be protected in-place using the patented ePIPE system and materials.

Water Research Foundation Makes Recommendation


Water Research Foundation Report 4351 released March 2017, recommends coating underground lead service lines (LSLs) be considered an option to replacement. This study was jointly funded by the Water Research Foundation (WRF) and the EPA.

ePIPE used in Protecting Lead Pipes "in-place" in Greater London, UK.

The ePIPE solution has been part of one of the world's largest lead pipe remediation programs involving some 30,000 underground lead water supply pipes. LSLs run underground from the water main to the curb stop tap (valve) at each property; that same pipe may also run to the supply tap inside a house.

About ePIPE® and LeadSmart®

The patented ePIPE process involves restoring pipes in-place, with an application of an epoxy barrier coating resulting in a restored epoxy lined piping system. The process provides a solution for slab leaks, pinhole leaks, and the reduction of lead leaching from lead pipes and lead contributors. LeadSmart is an on-site lead testing and lead remediation service, leading to a property being LeadSmart Certified. Service providers are located in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, UK and Europe. For more information, contact ACE DuraFlo® Systems at www.epipeinfo.com or (888) 775-0220.


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