Plastic Pipe Data Collection (PPDC) Initiative

Natural gas utilities have more than 525,000 miles of plastic mains and over 30 million plastic services. To understand the long-term performance of this investment, APGA and AGA developed the Plastic Pipe Data Collection (PPDC) Initiative to gather data on the performance of pipe. This program shares data in a confidential manner with representatives of industry and government.

Plastic Pipe Data Collection (PPDC) Initiative page

The ongoing project to collect and share data on plastic pipe failures will play an increasingly important role for public gas systems as federal pipeline safety efforts turn to distribution integrity management principals. The sharing program is a voluntary program in which distribution operators submit reports on failures of plastic pipe and pipe components which is periodically reviewed by the PPDC to determine if any particular type of plastic pipe or fitting is experiencing a trend in failures.

APGA strongly urges members who are not currently part of the program to join the Plastic Pipe Data Sharing effort. All participants need to ensure that monthly reports are submitted regardless of whether failures have occurred.

View the report

View the definitions & data forms

How To Volunteer

The PPDC is made up of a joint industry and regulatory membership that includes OPS, NTSB, NARUC, AGA, APGA, and the Plastic Pipe Institute (PPI). 160 systems made up of APGA and AGA members representing nearly 70% of all plastic distribution pipeline mileage are currently participating in the program. The APGA Board strongly supports this effort and encourages all APGA members to participate in this project. A number of APGA members currently participate in the program. It should noted that the protocols set up provide for complete confidentiality of the data.

For more information on this program, contact APGA Vice President, Operations Erin Kurilla at ekurilla@apga.org.