After years of research, Dr. Marc Edwards, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
at Virginia Tech has proven that the recent epidemic of pinhole & slab leaks in copper pipes
is caused by the water. In order to comply with the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1991, water treatment plants began
disinfecting our drinking water with Chloromines instead of Chlorine. This removed the Natural
Organic Matter (NOM) from the water which did make our water safer to drink, but in turn
made it very aggressive to the copper pipes.

With NOM in the water, the copper was able to develop a protective film coating. Like when
you put a penny in water, it would eventually form a blue-green patina. As the protective
film develops it protects the pipe from the water and the corrosion rate decreases. However,
the changes made to our water chemistry have interferred with the formation process resulting
in accelerated pitting and corrosion.

ref: http://www.nace.org/mponline/2004/0405018.pdf

Homes built in the 1960's & 70's can expect about 30-35 years of life from their copper pipes.
Homes built since 1980 will get about 8 - 15 years of life from their copper pipes. Some
pipes may fail in as little as 2 years.,

The only way to stop the corrosion is to keep the aggressive water from coming into contact
with the interior walls of the pipe. This can be achieved by lining the pipes with an epoxy
coating. This process is called ePipe. It prevents leaks and will add about 50-100 years of
life to your copper pipes. It is also installed without tearing up your walls, ceilings and
floors. I suggest you contact ACE DuraFlo. They have a very comprehensive website at restoremypipes.com