**4.6. Bamboo culm drainage pipes**

Drainpipes made from bamboo serve as low-cost substitute to those made from assorted materials. The use of drainage pipes made of various assorted materials is very common in our markets [101]. These materials are very expensive, not readily available, require a high degree of maintenance and pollute water, which they convey due to the pipe's constituents. They include drainpipes made from wood boards or box drains, bricks, horseshoe-shaped ceramic tile, circular clay tile, concrete tile, bituminised fibre perforated pipe, perforated smooth plastic pipe to corrugated plastic pipe. Currently, corrugated pipes are frequently used, although clay and concrete pipes are still being used as well. In rural Tanzania, a bamboo pipe network is being used for providing safe and constant water supply to a large rural population [102]. In a study reported by Akinbile et al. [101] found that the use of bamboo (*B. vulgaris*) of predetermined lengths and diameters as a field drainage material was found effective. The result indicated that bamboo could be satisfactorily used as an alternative to the various assorted materials that are very common in markets to provide an advantage of cost, as well as easy transportation, handling and laying. Also, bamboo pipes do not contaminate the water being conveyed and do not react with the soil; unlike the other assorted materials, thus preventing the excessive cost of treating the water being conveyed for the various human and animal uses [101].
