The historical failure rate of HDPE pipelines has been very low (http://plasticpipe.org/pdf/ukwir-national-mains-failure-database.pdf), and is often due to improper installation or design issues, or subsequent third party damage. In general, repair times and costs vary widely, but for planning purposes may be roughly estimated to be in the range of 5 to 7½ hours (excluding travel), and $1,000 to $7,000, per incident, for HDPE distribution systems, depending on the pipe size; see table below. These times and costs are intended to include excavation and reinstatement.

Representative Repair Times and Costs for HDPE Pipe



Note: It is emphasized that these values are only rough estimates that will vary widely based on individual applications and circumstances. Furthermore, to the extent that the repair time and cost is reportedly primarily driven by the pipe size and associated burial/excavation depth, the net overall repair time and cost may be relatively insensitive to the type of pipe material.