Acea Ato 5 reports

Building long-lasting infrastructures for the future. Good planning is certainly necessary, but good materials are essential.
This is why Acea Ato 5 has chosen to build its new water networks using pipes and technical elements made of ductile iron, rather than of less performing plastic materials.

The objective is to build new pipelines and renew or improve the existing ones with effective and long-lasting solutions, ideal even in particularly demanding locations and conditions.

The aim is not just to bring water to all homes and ensure water treatment plants work efficiently, but to provide functional and long-lasting infrastructures, networks and plants that will stand the test of time across the whole territory, making it easy for those who will manage the service in the future, starting from Municipalities, who are the sole owners of these new infrastructures.

Ductile iron pipelines are certainly nothing new. The history of iron-carbon alloy in pipe production goes back more than a century. What is new is the way it is used. In the past decades, thanks to innovative manufacturing technologies, ductile iron has acquired characteristics that make it adaptable to the requirements of hydraulic engineering.

The ductile iron used to make new pipes is a variation of the iron-carbon alloy; carbon in the form of graphite is made of microscopic spheroidal particles grouped together, making the alloy stronger and more moldable.
Hence the name “ductile”, easy to be molded during the productions of various parts.

The new water pipes made with this specific alloy, which Acea Ato 5 has already started using, will provide additional security, ensure better resistance against natural corrosion, great vibration absorption, usability and resistance to ground pressure and failure.

Externally, ductile iron pipes are treated with varnish that reduces corrosion; internally, they are lined with cement-based mortars that do not react when they come in contact with drinking water and over time reduce the amount of limescale deposit; these pipes can be used in almost any type of ground and can be laid without special preparation, proving to be extremely convenient in terms of potential and quality, therefore benefits definitely outbalance costs.

Additionally, connections to mains will be made using new methods, thanks to the use joints and pipes made of galvanized steel covered in PVC and laying the pipelines at a depth that limits the damage caused by external temperatures and vehicle traffic (at least one meter below ground, wherever possible).

Acea Ato 5, thanks to the experience, knowledge and capability of the entire Acea Group, confirms its commitment to achieving high targets in order to offer an increasingly efficient and effective integrated water service in the 86 Municipalities covered by Ato 5 Frosinone, with great professionalism and technical capacity.