| The mission of every water utility is to supply its customers with high quality water. To reduce water losses and to better utilize the precious treated drinking water, good strategies may be implemented in an ongoing management program. The management of water mains infrastructure covers two broad actions: (1) location and prediction of water mains deterioration, leak detection and failure, and (2) assessment of best technology to rehabilitate or replace the system. In this report various causes and effects of water main leaks and failures; use of GIS technology to identify areas with a high potential risk of failure based on historical repair data, soil type, and temperature; and methodologies to determine, detect, and prevent water main failures are presented.; The major causes of leakage in water distribution systems are deteriorated pipes, defective joints and sealing, and faulty service connections. The major causes of pipe failure are corrosion, erosion of the pipe bedding support, excessive loads, and temperature stresses. The effects of leaks and pipe failures are wasting of treated water; the high cost of water loss to the utilities; the disruption of the service; damages of properties, roads, and pavements; and the high cost of repairs and replacement.; GIS technology was used to analyze a section of a water distribution system. Multiple risk factors such as historical repair data, type of soil, and temperature were integrated to identify areas susceptible to fail within the test section. As a result of the GIS modeling, it was determined that previous failures increase the likelihood of future failures in its immediate vicinity; temperature is not a significant factor in pipe failures; corrosion appears to be the most detrimental factor in the pipe failures. Additionally, pipelines in study area that posed a high risk of failure, and needed maintenance were identified. |
