May 27, 2026

PVC pipe helps Indiana city upgrade aging sewer network, build capacity and protect the environment

PVC pipe helps Indiana city upgrade aging sewer network, build capacity and protect the environment

Crown Point, IN, used PVC pipe as part of a multi-year sewer infrastructure upgrade project to address aging infrastructure, capacity constraints and environmental issues. 

 

Situation

Situated in Lake County in Indiana’s northeast corner, Crown Point is a small city with a population of around 34,000 people.

As is the case for municipalities across the country, the city’s water infrastructure system was aging. Wastewater pipes were undersized or had reached or surpassed their design lifetimes, and a growing population and increasing demands on the sewer network meant that it was exceeding capacity, with the downtown corridor most acutely affected.

Crown Point is also one of the nation’s 700 or so communities served by combined sewer systems, with a combined sewer overflow (CSO) that discharges into the Main Beaver Dam Ditch and ultimately Lake Michigan.

The capacity issues were causing sewer backups, flooding, and increasing the risk of damaging CSO spill incidents.

 

Challenge

The city needed to modernize its wastewater infrastructure, building in additional capacity in order to address overflow incidents and to accommodate current and future demands.

Upgrade work also had to meet Indiana Department of Environmental Management environmental standards.

 

Solution

The city developed a $185M, multi-year sewer network upgrade program, centered on a large-diameter interceptor that consolidated multiple water lines.

The city selected Oldcastle Infrastructure’s PVC pipe for the project, and our National Pipe & Plastics team provided almost 1.9 million lbs of pipe ranging in size from 6 in to 48 in diameter.

To increase transparency and accountability our teams partnered with local distribution partners Ferguson Waterworks and the PVC Pipe Association to provide enhanced specification documentation and to provide an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to demonstrate the environmental benefits of using PVC pipe.

 

Outcome

Work began in October 2025, and is expected to complete by 2027. The implementation of the large centralized interceptor reduced network complexity, mitigating blockage risks, as well as increasing pumping efficiency, thereby cutting the energy costs associated with conveying wastewater.

In addition to reducing the flooding and CSO spill risks, the use of PVC pipe increases the longevity of the network, thereby extending asset lifetimes and ensuring that Crown Point’s upgraded sewer network remains in good working order for many decades to come.

“This project is critical to Crown Point in terms of both addressing its outdated sewer network and protecting the local environment, and I’m delighted that we were able to play a part in its success. Aging water infrastructure is a major issue across the United States, and it’s great to see communities tackling that challenge, and doing it with solutions that prioritize longevity.”

Jeff Bridge, President – Water Transmission, Oldcastle Infrastructure

 

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