G.V.Loganathan - Department of civil and Environmental Engineering
Juneseok Lee - Department of civil and Environmental Engineering
D.Bosch - Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics
S.Dwyer - Institute for Community Health

About 90% of the domestic drinking water plumbing systems in the USA use copper pipes. Recently , there has been a significant increase in pinhole leaks in these copper plumbing pipes. For majority of homeowners, their home is the most valuable asset. The possibility of falling home value and health concerns have caused considerable anxiety among the affected homeowners. These is a need for a decision tool foe determining whether to continue to repair or replace the system and which material to use. Currently, PEX (Cross-linked polyethylene) and CPVC (Chlorinated polyvinyl Chloride) are used along with copper. Stainless steel in being considered but does not have a significant market share. The material selection process is formalized within the frame work of the Analysis Hierarchy process (AHP) . Multiple attributes including price, corrosion resistance, fire retardance , health effects, effects, longevity (cold and hot water) , re-sale value of home, and taste and odor are considered . The methodology was implemented with the help of a focus group. The results of the focus group study are reported in this paper.

AHP (Analytical Hierarchical process), preference tradeoffs, plumbing , copper pipe, Water distribution system