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Dipl.-Ing. Erwin Kober, Dr.-Ing.

Gerald Gangl, RBS wave GmbH


Key words: Asset Management - Rehabilitation - Water Loss Monitoring

Integrated Asset Management as basis for sustainable water loss


reduction
Introduction
According to national standards, water utilities have to guarantee the supply of water to their
consumers in appropriate quality, quantity and pressure. Therefore, combining information
about network, asset conditions and service data is the basis for implementation of a
customized strategic asset management (SAM). On basis of SAM, an operative asset
management (OAM) will be derived to ensure an acceptable damage- and loss rate. In this
context SAM and OAM have to consider technical and economical aspects.
The application of an integrated asset management is approved in a wide range of medium
and big sized water suppliers in Germany.

Integrated Asset Management


Supply guarantee, supply quality and the reliability of supply are the milestones of a
professional asset management. Periodic or condition based inspection, information from
monitoring systems and the documentation of occurred failure and realised rehabilitation are
the basis for developing a state-of-the-art strategy. The combination of the experience of the
on-site operational staff and the theoretically available data is essential. A model of an
integrated asset management for water supply systems is pictured in Fig. 1.
The five categories are explained in the following chapters.
Figure 1: Integrated Asset Management 5 categories

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Analysis Management
Service interruptions, damages and loss rates should be as low as possible. Different
external and internal loads have an influence on the ageing process of the pipe network. Due
to the fact that direct inspection of pipe network is impossible, indirect methods for describing
the actual condition are necessary to derive an adequate rehabilitation rate.
The hydraulic performance of a system can be analysed by using an mathematical model
(Fig. 2). The calculation should consider different cases such as maximum peak demand,
night flow and fire fighting conditions. Generally, models should be calibrated by on site
measurements (pressure and flow) to eliminate and identify faults such as closed valves,
incrustations, wrong pipe data or pipe connections. A calibrated model is the basis of
assessment of pressures and flows in a system and is used for the complete design work.
Figure 2: Sample of a mathematical model

The loss monitoring can be realised by highly accurate flow meters which are positioned at
hydraulically relevant positions (pipes) over the distribution system to meter conspicuous
changes in the flow velocity (Fig. 4).
If one conspicuous change is stable for more than two or three days respectively nights, the
change is caused by a leakage and not by customers water consumption. The change of
flow velocity is metered by the installed measuring instruments regarding to their hydraulic
position to the leakage. With the strategic positioning of meters or LeakControl sensors in the
network, physical or virtual district metered areas (DMAs) are introduced between the
sensors (Fig. 4). Analysis of the influenced meter spread over the distribution system results
in a first rough estimation of the localisation of the leak [2]. Hence the leakage can be
quantified and localised (Fig. 4).

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Figure 3: Result of a hydraulic analysis

Figure 4: Leakage in a virtual DMA

For steel pipes condition based analysis is possible by using a cathodic corrosion protection
system (CCP). Periodically measured CCP-values reflect the condition of the coating and
also the effectiveness of the CCP in all major defective zones [3]. Additional statements to
critical external stray current or a. c. voltage are possible. Experience of the last ten years
with CCP-remote monitoring systems shows a significant upgrade in the quality of describing
the technical condition of a pipeline.

Data Management
The basis for an integrated asset management is the combination of available data from the
analysis management and data coming from systems operation (e.g. inspection). Information
provided by monitoring systems for water loss and cathodic corrosion protection has to be
linked with graphical and numerical data coming from geographical information systems
(GIS) and with data coming from commercial data processing. By analyzing this data the
condition of each pipe section can be evaluated in the context of the whole system. Usually
the GIS will be used as leading system. Fig. 5 shows the material and age structure of a
network.
Figure 5: Material and age structure

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Accounting Management
For water supply utilities water loss is a main benchmark that reflects the quality of the pipe
system. The data basis of systems inflow and outflow which is used for calculation of a water
balance has to be highly accurate to quantify water loss and to differentiate between real and
apparent water loss.

Performance Management
In order to develop a foresighted strategy for a water supply utility it is necessary to know the
actual condition of the distribution system and to define performance indicators. These
performance indicators can be calculated using the information of analysis-, data- and
accounting management. The German standard DVGW has defined performance indicators
for annual failure rate (Table 1) and specific water loss rate [4]. The strategic asset
management needs to combine all technical and economical performance indicators in order
to maintain an optimized utility specific approach.
Table 1: benchmarks for damage rates of pipes in water distribution systems
(DVGW W400-3)

definition of damage rates

low
average
high

damage rates
principal and local mains
service pipes
(damages per km and year)
(damages per km and year)
0.1
5
> 5 to 10
> 0.1 to 0.5
> 0.5
> 10

Figure 6 shows the development of failure rate for ductile iron pipes with different coatings.
Figure 6: Failure rate for ductile iron pipes

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Risk Management
The ongoing deterioration of the net, the change of the net condition caused by several
influencing factors has to be merged and evaluated in a risk management. The utility specific
performance indicators and acceptable network condition regarding failure rate and
consumer complaints, has to be taken into consideration. The comparison with standard
performance indicators like the failure rate [6] may help to get a feeling of the own position
compared to the position of other companies. Nevertheless, an ageing function should reflect
the own situation. Thus it is evident that it needs to be calibrated. In order to calculate the
future need for rehabilitation of a water supply system, it is necessary to comprise the
ongoing deterioration of materials by a raising failure probability in the present. This
approach is well-grounded in several corresponding studies for the sectors water [5], gas [6]
or electricity [7]. To describe this deterioration process, some well-known theoretical
probability distribution functions can be fitted to the recorded failure data by statistical
analysis.
Hence, a failure or risk probability for each defined pipe group depending on the ongoing age
can be calculated.

Implementation of an Integrated Asset Management


A strategic asset management concept is based on ageing functions that are well fitted to
water utilitys own failure logs. An appropriate strategy can be found for different scenarios,
when equipment belongs to pipe groups and when it is known how many segments are going
to fail with increasing age (Fig. 7). The strategy should regard economical aspects (e.g. grids
changing value), technical aspects (e. g. changing equipments mean age) and/or risk
aspects like grids availability and failure rate.
Figure 7: Planned Scenario with related net book value

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Operational Asset Management


The operational asset managements mission is to define medium-term rehabilitation
requirements and maintenance tasks [5, 6, 7] which are based on long-term ones. Pipes
belong to groups with a certain demand of rehabilitation. The demand of rehabilitation should
then be allocated to pipe segments. The corresponding guideline provides a list of criteria [5]
and also a related evaluation method in order to prioritize pipe segments. For mid-term
rehabilitation and maintenance planning, further internal and external criteria have to be
considered. The failure rate of each segment or line is an important rehabilitation criterion
that determines where maintenance should take place.
Further rehabilitation criteria result from analysis management. It is self-evident that the
performance management need to rate those rehabilitation criteria according to their
relevance. At this point, recorded failures, results from hydraulic calculation, inspection and
cathodic corrosion protection are brought together in order to segregate segments that need
to be replaced urgently. In addition to the above mentioned criteria, also incorporate external
factors should be considered. The Swiss guideline [9] for example expresses these factors
by a pipeline index, by an environment index and by a supplementary index. They can
include comparison of cost like for example between corrective and predictive maintenance
strategies. The result of the criteria evaluation allows a definition of priorities list according to
importance and urgency of pipe sections.
When these pipeline segments are finally visualized by GIS the planning works could easily
be executed. Figure 8 summarises the rehabilitation priorities connected with result from
hydraulic analysis for areas with high pressure and pipe incrustation.
Figure 8: Analysis of different aspects for a rehabilitation strategy

An integrated approach of a rehabilitation strategy also includes a consideration of other pipe


based mediums in order to realize a cost effective rehabilitation programme (minimizing
construction costs and pipe works). This consideration and other external influences usually
leads to another ranking of projects.
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Figure 9 summarises the rehabilitation priorities on basis of a consideration due to another


pipe system (gas).
Figure 9: Analysis of failure rates of different mediums

Conclusion
A modern asset management is based on analyzing lots of information and data in a database and evaluate it by using an applicable asset management software.
On this basis, a water supplier can efficiently utilize companys know-how for the strategic
planning and rehabilitation of the system.
The introduced Integrated Asset Management understands the strategic and operative asset
management as a cluster of five categories. This approach has been well approved in the
water supply industry and in multi utility companies. The application of such an asset
management is essential for a safe and largely faultless operation of a pipe network with
tolerable damage- and water loss rates and leads to improved economic efficiency.

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Literature:
[1] Gangl, G.; Deiss, R. (2010) Netzmanagement in der Praxis, 3R international
(49) Heft 3/2010
[2] Kober, E.; Gangl, G. (2009) New Monitoring Methodology for Water Distribution
Systems, IWA Conference Water Loss 2009, Cape Town
[3] DIN EN 12954 (2001) Cathodic protection of buried or immersed metallic
structures. General principles and application for pipelines
[4] DVGW W 392 (2003) Pipe network inspection and water loss measures,
procedures and evaluation, www.dvgw.de
[5] DVGW W 401 (1997) assistance for the rehabilitation of water distribution
systems, www.dvgw.de
[6] DVGW G 401 (2009) Erfassung und Auswertung von Daten zum Aufbau von
Instandhaltungsstrategien fr Gasverteilungsnetze, www.dvgw.de
[7] FGH (2006) Asset-Management von Verteilungsnetzen Komponentenverhalten
und Analyse des Kostenrisikos, www.fgh-ma.de
[8] Gangl G. (2008) Rehabilitationsplanung von Trinkwassernetzen, Schriftenreihe
zur Wasserwirtschaft, Band 53, Graz University of Technology, ISBN 978-385125-007-7
[9] SVGW G 1001d (2004) Sicherheitsbeurteilung von Erdgasleitungen mit
Betriebsdruck 1 bis 5 bar, www.svgw.ch
[10] Gangl, G. (2010) Operatives Asset Management am Beispiel der Wasserversorgung
Stuttgart, Vortragsreihe der Fakultt fr Bauingenieurwissenschaften der TU Graz, Graz 25.03.2010
[11] Gangl, G. (2011) Asset Management, bluefacts 2011, Stuttgart 04/2011

Contact:
RBS wave GmbH
Erwin Kober
Kriegsbergstrae 32
70174 Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 12846165
e.kober@rbs-wave.de

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