A decision support tool for water mains renewal for small to medium sized utilities: a risk index approach (2013)

Research Article| November 30 2013 A decision support tool for water mains renewal for small to medium sized utilities: a risk index approach Alex Francisque; Alex Francisque 1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Anjuman Shahriar; Anjuman Shahriar 1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nilufar Islam; Nilufar Islam 1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Getnet Betrie; Getnet Betrie 1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Riffat Binte Siddiqui; Riffat Binte Siddiqui 1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Solomon Tesfamariam; Solomon Tesfamariam 1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rehan Sadiq Rehan Sadiq 1School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada2EME-4253, 1137 Alumni Ave., Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada E-mail: rehan.sadiq@ubc.ca Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2014) 63 (4): 281–302. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2013.305 Article history Received: May 27 2013 Accepted: October 24 2013 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Permissions Search Site Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThis Journal Search Advanced Search Citation Alex Francisque, Anjuman Shahriar, Nilufar Islam, Getnet Betrie, Riffat Binte Siddiqui, Solomon Tesfamariam, Rehan Sadiq; A decision support tool for water mains renewal for small to medium sized utilities: a risk index approach. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 June 2014; 63 (4): 281–302. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2013.305 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex All over the world water mains are under increasing threat due to aging, aggressive environmental factors, operational factors and inadequate maintenance. Extensive maintenance, repair and rehabilitation practices, or replacement of water mains are required to ensure an acceptable performance of water supply systems. Investment deficit for water system maintenance and rehabilitation has been estimated in billions. Small to medium sized water utilities are generally impacted more because of limited financial resources and lack of technical expertise. However, water mains integrity is of primary interest due to potential adverse consequences related to public health, safety, and heavy financial liabilities in case of a failure. This paper presents a user-friendly decision support tool to help managers of these water utilities to prioritize maintenance, repair, and replacement (M/R/R) strategies for water mains. This paper proposes a risk index approach which aggregates the water mains vulnerability and associated failure consequences. The developed tool can help decision-makers to rank the water mains and help to prioritize M/R/R strategies. The results have been integrated with a geographic information system that will allow a decision-maker to visualize the vulnerable zones within the network. The City of Kelowna water network is used to demonstrate the proposed approach. decision-making, decision support tool, risk index, water mains, water supply This content is only available as a PDF. © IWA Publishing 2014 You do not currently have access to this content.