Contrary to popular belief, copper water piping does not last forever. Copper exhibits excellent resistance to corrosion but only lasts about 25 years. Copper is vulnerable to pitting corrosion which can eventually lead to pinhole leaks. A pinhole leak is a puncture due to the progressive pitting corrosion process. The major causes of pinhole leaks in Cobb County are caused be Electrolysis and improper electrical grounding/bonding of your homes electrical system to existing copper in your home. And Yes excessive water pressure speeds up the process.

Electrical grounding and bonding (lack there of) is the major problem we see in Cobb County. Stray currents can also have an effect on pinhole corrosion due to improper electrical grounding. The practice of using the water distribution (copper piping) as part of the grounding system for homes and buildings has been common place for more than 80 years. It is well known that direct electrical current discharge from a metallic object causes rapid and extensive corrosion. There are numerous cases of stray current corrosion having been associated with direct electrical currents. For years that panel was simply grounded to the pipes which were usually galvanized or copper and main underground waterlines were of the same materials.

Now In today’s world many homes of this era upgraded new waterlines underground to plastic materials which have conductive properties. So what happens to those electrons if they can’t find ground? There’s iron in that water, and iron and copper don’t mix. Let’s take it one step further. Follow that energized water in copper pipes to the water heater where the tank is metal, and all water heaters have what is called a sacrificial rod or anode rod. That anode rod is usually magnesium. Let’s summarize for a bit, energized water with iron