Alabama pipe plant tours highlight role in U.S. water infrastructure
EPA Region 4 Administrator Kevin McOmber and ADEM Director Edward Poolos met workers at three manufacturers whose Alabama-made pipe and fittings serve water and wastewater systems across the country.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 Administrator Kevin McOmber and Alabama Department of Environmental Management Director Edward Poolos toured ductile iron pipe and fittings manufacturing facilities across Alabama on October 28 and 29. The tours highlighted the state’s central role in the nation’s water infrastructure industry and the companies and workers who help deliver drinking water to communities across the country.
Birmingham and the surrounding region have been the epicenter of America’s iron pipe industry for more than a century. All three of the nation’s domestic ductile iron pipe producers maintain their headquarters in Birmingham, and the pipe and fittings they make in Alabama serve water and wastewater systems nationwide.
Over the two days, state and federal officials visited a manufacturing facility operated by each of the three companies: American Cast Iron Pipe Company, McWane and U.S. Pipe. Officials saw firsthand how recycled scrap metal can become finished pipe and fittings and met the skilled workers making those products. They also learned about the companies’ investments in modern production and environmental controls.
“Alabama’s Ductile Iron Pipe industry is a remarkable example of American manufacturing at its best with a skilled workforce and pipe made in America that carries drinking water to communities across the country,” McOmber said. “Seeing firsthand how recycled scrap becomes finished pipe and fittings, and the investments these companies are making in modern production and environmental controls, underscores why domestic manufacturing matters—for jobs, for supply chains, and for the water infrastructure Americans depend on every day.”
“Alabama has a remarkable manufacturing heritage, and its Ductile Iron Pipe producers are a central part of that story,” Poolos said. “These tours provide an opportunity to see that work firsthand and recognize the role Alabama plays in helping communities across the country build safe, reliable water systems.”
