Asset management for urban wastewater pipeline networks

Pipelines account for the lion's share of the lifetime costs of any typical urban wastewater collection. While the deterioration of pipeline is the obvious "frontline‟ reason to adopt Asset Management practices, a more overarching driver is the need to gravitate towards sustainable development and set short and long term objectives encompassing economic, social and environmental goals. Optimising the expenses and providing the required levels of service to customers are the twin targets of wastewater utilities. Oslo Vann og Avløpsetaten – the water/wastewater utility in the Norwegian capital, considered as case study in this paper, is sprucing up its data-bank, rightly realising that a very effective information management system is the spine of Asset Management.