A 24 in (610mm) x 10 mile potable water pipeline in PVC

In common with the rest of the country Cornwall has an increasing demand for water. This is partly due to improved living standards but is intensified by the above average increase in resident population due to immigration and by the seasonal demand of the rapidly growing tourist industry. The consequent problems of maintaining supplies are especially acute in the popular resorts such as Newquay where there is a threefold difference between winter and summer consumption.

As the South West Peninsula narrows the rivers become shorter and more flashy so that they are unsuitable as reliable sources. To meet the future demand it became apparent that it would be necessary to transport water westwards from the high run off area of Bodmin Moor.

The Board then took the necessary steps to increase the output of their Restormel Works, on the River Fowey, and designed a trunk main to carry water westward to Indian Queens where there is an existing pipeline connecting with the Newquay distribution system.
It is the design and laying of this pipeline, particularly the 10 mile length in 24 in. dia. uPVC that this paper refers to. It is interesting to note that with the 20 in. dia. extension westward from Indian Queens to Zelah and on to Camborne, the idea of a "spine main" for augmenting supplies through the length of Cornwall, which was first proposed in 1945, has now come into being.