Needs studies indicate that a large capital investment is
required to renew an aging inventory of U.S. water distribution
systems. However, the institutional structure of distribution
system management does not encourage large investments for
renewal. To overcome this obstacle, utilities must use effective
tools and methods for asset management, which the author
defines in this article as "an information-based process used
for life-cycle facility management across organizations."
A framework is presented for condition assessment, which
utilities can use to assess their responsibilities and options for
distribution system capital management. The proposed framework
includes four levels (system goals and criteria, condition indicators,
integrated system parameters, and decisions relying on
system parameters) and uses nine basic condition indicators:
three for the capital side and six for operations.
The article also includes a review of distribution system needs,
a list of the main activities of asset management, a synthesis of
prioritization and condition assessment techniques, and a review
of renewal technologies, and examples of how leading utilities
are handling assessment and renewal activities today. Includes 61 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. 97 - No. 2 |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 710 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 11 |
| Published : | 02/01/2005 |
