Ensuring reliable water supply: tracking ageing infrastructure
 

Access to safe, high-quality drinking water is a fundamental human right. For water companies, the primary responsibility is to ensure uninterrupted access to this essential resource. Ageing pipes increase the risk of leaks and failures, leading to costly unplanned repairs. A risk-based investment plan helps water companies to predict pipeline failures and make informed decisions about maintenance and investments. This data-driven approach balances risk, financial, and operational performance, ensuring a reliable water supply.
 

Overcoming data challenges and predicting pipeline lifetimes
 

Implementing a risk-based plan, allows water companies to forecast pipeline lifetimes and allocate resources efficiently. In this article, Vitens and Deloitte present the approach and results required to achieve risk-based long-term planning for the replacement of nearly 50,000 kilometres of pipelines, spread across five provinces in the Netherlands. 5.9 million customers are supplied with drinking water through these pipes. The approach addresses historical inaccuracies and missing information by linking leaks to specific pipes and incorporating environmental factors. Using machine learning, pipes are grouped based on failure patterns, allowing for precise predictions of their remaining lifespan.