I've wondered about the "last mile" of Roman plumbing in the past when I've read about aqueducts, but I've never bothered to look up the details. It's interesting that the valves look so modern, and were standardized in size, but no threads were used. Threads were well-known at the time.
The lead pipes were not a surprise, but interesting, so I looked them up. In the past I'd wondered why lead was chosen, as it was known to be toxic even back then. It turns out that when the right chemicals are present in the water, naturely, or added at the water plant, the lead is not dissolved into the water, and it is safe. When Flint Michigan switched to a less expensive water supply a number of years back, the new water was cheaper, partly because it was not treated in the same manner at the plants, and the lead from old pipes started leaching into the water, which had not been the case with the old supply. Lead had the advantage of not leaking at pinholes like other metals did, at least when the other metal pipes were made to the same price as the lead pipes.
I found an article about lead pipes, and they were commonly used in the US to connect water mains to the house plumbing until the 1950s. The article said that there were still up to 10 million homes served with lead pipe today. It's highly likely that you have lead service lines if your house was made in the 1940s or older and has not been updated. Scary. Our house was built in the 1960s, so no lead service lines, but all the internal plumbing is copper with lead-based solder at all the connections.
I forget where I found this but it's fascinating stuff! I had always heard about Roman aqueducts but never knew they had standardized pipes and valves as well, let alone last-mile distribution right into certain public buildings and fancy homes. I also love the fact that there is a Valve Magazine that just has articles about valves.
There’s a beautiful patina on those mostly copper valves. Amazing engineering and construction!
I've wondered about the "last mile" of Roman plumbing in the past when I've read about aqueducts, but I've never bothered to look up the details. It's interesting that the valves look so modern, and were standardized in size, but no threads were used. Threads were well-known at the time.
The lead pipes were not a surprise, but interesting, so I looked them up. In the past I'd wondered why lead was chosen, as it was known to be toxic even back then. It turns out that when the right chemicals are present in the water, naturely, or added at the water plant, the lead is not dissolved into the water, and it is safe. When Flint Michigan switched to a less expensive water supply a number of years back, the new water was cheaper, partly because it was not treated in the same manner at the plants, and the lead from old pipes started leaching into the water, which had not been the case with the old supply. Lead had the advantage of not leaking at pinholes like other metals did, at least when the other metal pipes were made to the same price as the lead pipes.
I found an article about lead pipes, and they were commonly used in the US to connect water mains to the house plumbing until the 1950s. The article said that there were still up to 10 million homes served with lead pipe today. It's highly likely that you have lead service lines if your house was made in the 1940s or older and has not been updated. Scary. Our house was built in the 1960s, so no lead service lines, but all the internal plumbing is copper with lead-based solder at all the connections.
I forget where I found this but it's fascinating stuff! I had always heard about Roman aqueducts but never knew they had standardized pipes and valves as well, let alone last-mile distribution right into certain public buildings and fancy homes. I also love the fact that there is a Valve Magazine that just has articles about valves.