Managing a key resource using advanced water asset management

In order to manage water as a key resource more effectively we require advanced asset management strategic processes. Underground pipe assets are tricky to manage, in part because we cannot see them, and in part because information about their performance comes from multiple sources.

This paper is based on interviews with New Zealand water suppliers on pipe renewals and replacements decision processes. The research suggests that many of the larger water suppliers believe they have management practices in hand and that the smaller water suppliers have budgets too small to contemplate proactive replacements. In the middle are water suppliers that want more integrated, interactive asset management systems,great er certainty around remaining pipe life, and a better understanding of the effect of maintenance and replacements on network-level performance. These water suppliers also indicate they would welcome more guidance from the industry.

In this paper we outline the results of the survey of New Zealand Local Authorities’views on the use of and needs for advanced asset management software. We also discuss the benefits of bridging the gaps between current and advanced asset management practices.