The United Kingdom water industry has undergone significant change in the last 20 years, largely as a
result of privatization of the English and Welsh Water Authorities in 1989 and the
industry regulation that followed throughout the United Kingdom. This has resulted in the
current strict requirement to maintain and, where necessary, improve service to
customers. For potable water supply this has included the elimination of unacceptable
water quality, including the control of aesthetic parameters, and the management of
leakage and interruptions to supply to acceptable standards. Levels of service are linked
directly to asset condition and associated performance. Buried assets are intrinsically
difficult to assess directly, so condition and performance are often examined through
surrogate parameters (e.g. burst history, water samples) or spot/local testing of
opportunistic and planned samples with extrapolation to the whole asset. A variety of
assessment techniques has been developed to cover the range of materials in use as
potable water networks. Alongside this, a number of sophisticated strategic models have
been developed within the industry for investment planning purposes. These models use
various condition data as input and incorporate risk-based analysis to assist in the
development of integrated solutions. Attention to the water main criticality and to the
various cost drivers applicable to the modern UK water industry ensures a prioritized,
cost-efficient approach to asset management.
The paper begins with a brief explanation of the impact of privatization and the drivers for
improvement. There is then a detailed presentation of some elements of strategic asset
management planning techniques plus information relating to a selection of assessment
methodologies. A short summary of techniques and approaches used for solution delivery
is also included. Includes 3 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 2.9 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 43 |
| Published : | 11/01/2008 |
