Assessment and Acceptance of New Stormwater Pipelines

Most NZ Territorial Authorities specify that newly installed Stormwater pipelines shall be free from defects before accepting their ownership. However, most specifications do not have a clear definition of defects or provide an acceptable limit of tolerance to assess them. The methods for testing and evaluation of new pipelines, in many cases, are either at odds with the design standards, do not assess the appropriate criteria, or do not provide adequate information to properly determine the adequacy of newly constructed pipes. The high rate of urban development required to deliver the housing demand means that there is a large quantity of new pipelines under construction. An efficient process for evaluating the adequacy of new Stormwater pipes is necessary to ensure that the cost and effort in delivering quality, functional infrastructure is minimized while ensuring expected quality and resilience is delivered.