Towards sustainability of urban water networks: addressing management issues with innovative approaches

Physical infrastructure assets are essential to provide a specific service, which may change over time, according to service needs, challenges and life style. 40-100 years old water and wastewater pipes were installed to provide a service – conveying water for consumption for the former, carrying away storm and sanitary water for the latter - to a given number of customers under assigned external conditions, and were designed according to technologies and rules existing at the time of installation. As the conditions and the population to serve vary over time and during infrastructure lifetime, performance is likely to suffer as the physical condition of the pipes deteriorates, if timely remedial action is not taken. Talking of performance, what is expected from the pipes may change over time (the loading may increase for instance), and the reliability with which they can perform these functions may decrease. European utilities, for example, are still able to provide largely adequate water and sanitation service. However, tremendous forces of change are at work. Changing demands, society, regulations, environmental policies, economy, customer expectations are only few of the factors that will influence water and sanitation services in the future.