Pop Quiz: What’s a Poly-Cam Fitting?
Smart Wastewater Solutions from Haley Ward Engineers
What’s a Poly-Cam Fitting? No, it’s not a high-performance car part or the latest 3D scanning app. A Poly-Cam Fitting is one of the most reliable ways to sturdily connect high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe to traditional pipe fittings and materials.
On a recent project our team worked on, that detail turned out to be critical. HDPE was chosen to safely carry wastewater away from homes near a lake, protecting both the waterbody and nearby wells. However, when the low-bid contractor’s crew installed an off-brand substitute instead of the specified and approved Poly-Cam fittings and even used adhesive (a big red flag), the system suffered repeated failures.
The stakes were high. This wasn’t just a construction hiccup; it was a project designed to stop nutrient pollution from seeping through groundwater into nearby wells and a lake that families relied on for recreation. With groundwater often less than a foot below the surface, there was no acceptable level of leakage. Getting the connections right meant protecting both public health and a treasured local resource.
Our engineering team, drawing on deep experience with HDPE in natural gas and utility work, reviewed the construction records and confirmed the problem, even contacting the vendor to be certain that they hadn’t missed a technological development. The contractor acknowledged the error in their office to field communication, retrained their crew, and began excavating and replacing the incorrect parts.
The project is now back on track, and our team will continue to support the community by monitoring performance. Getting the details right matters, and in this case, it meant protecting drinking water, safeguarding a local lake, and keeping a critical wastewater system operating as intended, quietly and out of sight underground.