Editing Plumbing (section)

===History===
{{Main|History of water supply and sanitation}}
[[File:Canalisation machine de Marly.jpg|thumb|Old water pipe, remnant of the [[Machine de Marly]] near [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], France]]

[[Lead]] was the favoured material for water pipes for many centuries because its [[ductility|malleability]] made it practical to [[metalsmith|work]] into the desired shape. Such use was so common that the word "plumbing" derives from ''plumbum'', the [[Latin]] word for lead. This was a source of lead-related health problems in the years before the [[lead poisoning|health hazards of ingesting lead]] were fully understood; among these were [[stillbirth]]s and high rates of [[infant mortality]]. Lead water pipes were still widely used in the early 20th century and remain in many households. Lead-tin [[alloy]] [[solder]] was commonly used to join [[copper pipe]]s, but modern practice uses tin-antimony alloy solder instead in order to eliminate lead hazards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lead in Drinking Water|url=http://water.epa.gov/drink/info/lead/|publisher=Epa.gov|access-date=January 22, 2014|date=February 20, 2013}}</ref>

Despite the Romans' common use of lead pipes, [[Roman aqueduct|their aqueducts]] rarely poisoned people. Unlike other parts of the world where lead pipes cause poisoning, the Roman water had so much [[calcium]] in it that a layer of plaque prevented the water contacting the lead itself. What often causes confusion is the large amount of evidence of widespread lead poisoning, particularly amongst those who would have had easy access to piped water,<ref>{{cite web|last=Hansen|first=Roger|title=WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS IN IMPERIAL ROME|url=http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/rome/|publisher=Waterhistory.org|access-date=January 22, 2014}}</ref> an unfortunate result of lead being used in cookware and as an additive to processed food and drink (for example as a [[preservative]] in wine).<ref name="Lead Poisoning">Grout, James. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.html "Lead Poisoning and Rome"]. Encyclopaedia Romana. 2017.</ref> [[Roman lead pipe inscription]]s provided information on the owner to prevent water theft.

[[Wooden pipes]] were used in London and elsewhere during the 16th and 17th centuries. The pipes were hollowed-out logs which were tapered at the end with a small hole in which the water would pass through.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wooden water pipe|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/lg-zKE0ETBSw4I8O_RHz5A|publisher=BBC|access-date=January 22, 2014}}</ref> The multiple pipes were then sealed together with hot animal fat. Wooden pipes were  used in Philadelphia,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/retropod/philadelphias-plumbing-revolution-wood-pipes/|title=Philadelphia's plumbing revolution: wood pipes - Retropod|last=Rosenwald|first=Mike|date=February 11, 2019|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref> Boston, and Montreal in the 1800s. Built-up wooden tubes were widely used in the US during the 20th century. These pipes (used in place of corrugated iron or reinforced concrete pipes) were made of sections cut from short lengths of wood. Locking of adjacent rings with hardwood dowel pins produced a flexible structure. About 100,000 feet of these wooden pipes were installed during WW2 in drainage culverts, storm sewers and conduits, under highways and at army camps, naval stations, airfields and ordnance plants.

[[Cast iron pipe|Cast iron]] and [[ductile iron pipe]] was long a lower-cost alternative to copper before the advent of durable plastic materials but special non-conductive fittings must be used where transitions are to be made to other metallic pipes (except for terminal fittings) in order to avoid corrosion owing to electrochemical reactions between dissimilar metals (see [[galvanic cell]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Types of Pipe Material|url=http://water.me.vccs.edu/concepts/material.html|publisher=Virginia's Community Colleges|access-date=January 22, 2014}}</ref>

[[Bronze]] fittings and short pipe segments are commonly used in combination with various materials.<ref>[http://www.statista.com/statistics/232263/market-for-water-equipment/ Worldwide Market for Industrial and Domestic Water Equipment as of 2010]. PwC. March 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2014.</ref>