Jenks, Ok — Vance Giblet has been drilling high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe under roads, rivers and creeks since the late 1970’s. So when he heard that the City of Jenks Oklahoma had a water line that had been washed out by Polecat Creek, he knew exactly what to do. Jenks is a suburb of Tulsa and is the second fastest growing city in the State of Oklahoma. The city has a busy schedule keeping up …

Fairfield Idaho, 2005 — Brian Shields pulls his truck to the side of a rural Idaho highway to fire up his Pocket PC, check his GPS and talk on his headset phone. He is stroking his Fu Manchu while finalizing another pipe deal and looks more like one of the Hells Angels than a technically advanced traveling sales rep. Shields hangs up, sits and stares over the steering wheel at his big-sky office. Rows of …

Springfield, Missouri — A growing number of cities are deciding to lean on polyethylene pipe for the next 100 or so years. It is a decision perceived by some to be an unproven venture while others claim there is no better pipe in the world to deal with the troubles plaguing U.S. water infrastructure. Almost everyone agrees that major infrastructure rehabilitation is needed but the largest problem is lack of funding and not the choice …