High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Water pipes are pipes or tubes, frequently made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC/uPVC), ductile iron, polyethylene, or copper, that carry pressurized and treated fresh water to buildings (as part of a municipal water system), as well as inside the building. For many centuries, lead was the favoured material for water pipes, due to its malleability (this use was so common that the word "plumbing" derives from the Latin word for lead). This was a source of lead-related health problems in the years before the health hazards of ingesting lead were fully understood; among these were stillbirths and high rates of infant mortality.