Securing drinking water to earthquake victims in L’Aquila, Italy

In April 2009, the earth trembled in the Italian Abruzzi region. The historical town of L'Aquila was particularly badly hit. 28,000 people were left homeless. New permanent housing had to be ready before the start of winter.  The new housing complexes also required a completely new infrastructure, fast to install and earthquake resistant.

Borealis together with Italian pipe producer Centraltubi provided on a pro-bono basis the drinking water pipeline for one of the new housing communities called 'Coppito 3'. This area encompassed 18 housing blocks to resettle approximately 1,800 people. The project was called "Acqua per L'Aquila", "Water for L'Aquila".

BorSafe PE was the material of choice. Studies after the Kobe earthquake in Japan had shown polyethylene pipes outperformed other materials in earthquake-prone areas. In L'Aquila, Borealis provided its latest generation material: BorSafe LS-H. Its exceptional strength and durability make it the best choice to withstand future seismic activities. It also allows pipes to be laid into the rocky ground directly, thanks to their excellent Slow Crack Growth properties.

1.3 kilometres of 90 and 180 mm pipes were installed at the end of September 2009, allowing the new residents to move into their houses before winter set in.

 "Acqua per L'Aquila" was set up under the umbrella of Water for the World, a programme established by Borealis and Borouge to help find solutions to global water challenges.