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Field Demonstration of Condition Assessment Technologies for Wastewater Collection Systems
Citation:
Martel, K., M. E. Tuccillo, AND C. Feeney. Field Demonstration of Condition Assessment Technologies for Wastewater Collection Systems. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-11/078, 2011.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Reliable information on pipe condition is needed to accurately estimate the remaining service life of wastewater collection system assets. Although inspections with conventional closed-circuit television (CCTV) have been the mainstay of pipeline condition assessment for decades, other technologies are now commercially available. Five such innovative technologies were selected for field trials: zoom camera, electro-scanning, digital scanning, laser profiling, and sonar. The goal of the field demonstration was to evaluate the technical performance and coast of these technologies. The field demonstration was conducted in August 2010 and was hosted by Kansas City, MO Water Services Department. The innovative technologies were compared to CCTV inspection. Each technology identified maintenance and structural defects by collecting data or images of the pipe condition. The camera technologies (digital scanning, zoom camera, CCTV) and laser scanning provided pipe condition above the water line, whereas sonar assessed conditions below the water line. Electro-scanning detected defects anywhere along the pipe circumference. Costs were compared for different inspection technologies based on actual costs for planning, field work, data analysis, and reporting. Total costs for the multi-sensor inspection were $4.21 per foot of pipeline inspected as compared to $2.95 per foot for electro-scanning, $0.99 per foot zoom camera, and $2.80 to $3.00 for CCTV.