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Decision Support for Renewal of Wastewater Collection and Water Distribution Systems
Citation:
Matthews, J., W. Condit, AND R. McKim. Decision Support for Renewal of Wastewater Collection and Water Distribution Systems. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-11/077, 2011.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
The objective of this study was to identify the current decision support methodologies, models and approaches being used for determining how to rehabilitate or replace underground utilities; identify the critical gaps of these current models through comparison with case history data collected from utilities; and assess the feasibility of substantially improving upon existing approaches. This was accomplished by reviewing seven of the most complete wastewater and water conditional assessment models and interviewing eight utilities. The strengths and the critical gaps in the capabilities of each of the decision support models were identified and reported. While each of the seven utilities was capable of performing critical decision functions to determine whether to use rehabilitation for replacement technologies for pipeline renewal, all identified the need for model support to assist in this process. This improved model could include: the Trenchless Assessment Guide for Rehabilitation (TAG-R) structure, which contains a robust methods database and an industry vetted technical evaluation process; a condition assessment evaluation; a deterioration model; and the City of Atlanta’s Rehabilitation Section Tool. After incorporation each of these aspects into one model, the inclusion of a case study database would be needed to meet the final requirements identified by the utilities.