Evaluating the Risks of Water Distribution System Failure

Abstract

This article discusses a project initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to develop a quantitative risk model for drinking water infrastructure repair and replacement. The project focused on four aspects of drinking water infrastructure condition and quantitative risk assessment: developing a quantitative, statistically‐based risk model for pipe‐segment failure; developing a model for estimating costs and benefits, including secondary and societal costs, of pipe repair, rehabilitation, and replacement using the Inspection Value Method evaluation technique; assessing prestressed cylindrical concrete pipe (PCCP), which is of particular interest because it's frequently the means of transmitting large volumes of water; and, identifying and assessing current, state‐of‐the art pipe inspection technology.