Burst water pipe
A water pipe burst is damage to the pipe of a (waste) water pipe , which leads to an uncontrolled escape of (waste) water .
causes
The causes of a water pipe burst:
- mainly frost , leads to water damage after thawing
- Material or manufacturing defects in the water pipes
- Pressure surge
- severe corrosion
- Material fatigue
- Burst , laid underground near the road lines can by the long-standing and ever-increasing traffic crumbly be and burst
- through careless construction work (in civil engineering as well as in house construction), e.g. B. with unknown position of the lines.
Risks and Consequences
Large fractures primarily lead to water damage (damage from the sheer amount of water), but small fractures to moisture damage (damage from the corrosive and biophilic effect of the water).
In the domestic area
If the pipe is part of a building , this type of damage often affects the space below the burst pipe. In addition to severe dripping water damage to household items in the event of large breaks, mold stains in particular are possible due to the formation of mold (with the following health hazards) and damage to buildings - from peeling of paint to wood rot or damage to concrete structures - due to the gradual soaking of the masonry.
After repairing a broken pipe in a building, it must be dried . Building drying devices with condensation drying or air dehumidifiers are used for this.
Leak or beginning of pipe break
If the water meter shows creeping consumption, although all water connections / water taps are closed, this indicates a leak or the beginning of a pipe break, which can suddenly increase due to pressure surges. This is dangerous insofar as the leak is not yet clearly localized and the consequences can only be recognized very gradually.
In municipal water supply
Broken water pipes in the water pipes of public or private water supply companies outside the domestic area can lead to the penetration of germs into the leakage point of the drinking water supply . Due to the low level of loss, undetected damage is the cause of permanent line losses. In the event of major damage, there is a risk of undercutting and the associated subsidence of the road surface , in the worst case even sudden sinking (mining pinging ), with fatal accidents.
Broken water pipes lead to complex road or earthworks and can even cause a water emergency. The localization of the broken pipe and the sealing by means of sealing clips or - in the case of major damage - by means of conserving methods such as the insertion of a pipe liner is carried out by the water supply company or a contracted company.
In municipal wastewater disposal
In addition to the geological damage already described, burst pipes in the sewage system lead to creeping and acute environmental pollution in the form of groundwater and water pollution , combined with health risks from the germs and pollutants contained in untreated sewage.
Insurance law aspects
Broken water pipes and their consequences are subject to liability on the part of the perpetrator and can therefore cause great financial damage. On the part of the injured party, the household contents insurance covers property insurance , and the building insurance , if necessary , if it includes a - usually additional - tap water package.
The burst pipe in tenancy law
According to a decision by the Duisburg Regional Court on May 18, 2010 (file number 13 S 58/10), the landlord is not obliged to carry out a regular general inspection of the water pipes in the house. Correspondingly, the Federal Court of Justice decided on electrical installations in 2008. As a result, the landlord is basically not at fault for a water pipe burst.
If pipe ruptures occur during civil engineering or sewer construction work, u. U. the community for the consequences of a burst pipe.
Laws and norms
About technical requirements:
- DIN 2460 steel pipes and fittings for water pipes - on the requirements for water pipes made of steel ( building services )
- EN 1916 reinforced concrete pipe , EN 1917 manhole rings and cones , in their national adoptions and specific supplements - on the requirements for the durability of water pipes made of precast concrete parts (main water pipes)
To liability:
- Germany: § 2 HPflG , §§ 45 and 62 AwSV , obligations of the operator in water law
- Austria: § 1318 ABGB , liability of the apartment owner, § 26 WRG 1959 , liability in relation to bodies of water (industrial water)
further reading
Individual evidence
- ↑ pipe burst: giant hole in the road , Glockenspitz, Krefeld, July 27, 2007 news line Westdeutsche Zeitung
- ↑ Death hole ( memento from November 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) , message about the accident on the subway construction site / Truderinger Strasse in Munich, September 20, 1994, on busfahrenaktuell.de
- ↑ BGH, judgment of December 14, 2006 - III ZR 303/05
- ↑ Jurisprudence on § 2 HPflG , at lexetius.com
- ^ Rainer: Liability of the apartment owner according to §1318 ABGB. (No longer available online.) In: real-law.at. February 16, 2013, archived from the original on March 24, 2018 ; accessed on March 24, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ferdinand Kerschner: On liability according to Section 26 of the Water Law Act and the statute of offenses in IPR. In JBl 1983, pp. 337-351
