Costing of strategies for long-term trunk main discolouration management

Abstract

Material continually accumulates throughout drinking water distribution systems, as a result episodic maintenance is essential to mitigate uncontrolled mobilisation leading to water quality failings. Focussing on discolouration as the primary issue observed by consumers, this risk is of particular significance in trunk mains that can supply large downstream populations. Long-term total costs are for the first time investigated here by considering future operational and capital interventions to sustain a defined hydraulic capability that limits the discolouration response. To achieve this, accumulation and mobilisation profiles of pipe wall material is simulated using the open source Variable Condition Discolouration Model (VCDM) to develop Pareto trade-off curves between discolouration resilience and maintenance intervention frequency and magnitude. As the rate at which material accumulates is considered a function of water quality, operational savings that could accrue from reduced maintenance following capital investment, such as water treatment upgrades, are also investigated. With the complexity, size and ageing nature of water distribution system infrastructure, the ability to forecast network discolouration behaviour and hence costs is vital for long-term delivery of safe water at least cost to customers.

Keywords: Accumulation; Discolouration; Mobilisation; Resilience; VCDM.