Water Management

Over the last two-plus decades I have seen the evolution of asset management in the water industry, from early attempts at GIS-based data collection and storage to today?s advanced analytics and optimization. Never over that period have I seen the industry more ready and more in need of implementing good practice asset management than right here, right now in the United States.

The push to remove caps on Private Activity Bonds (PABs) continues to make its way slowly through Congress. Continuing to lead the charge in the House of Representatives are Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), who have worked hard to educate members of the House Ways and Means Committee.

The City of Houston Public Works and Engineering Department delivers drinking water to nearly 3 million residents over a four-county, 600-sq-mile service area. On its website, the department defines its mission as ?protecting public health, protecting the environment and providing superior customer service.?

Government and industries together have taken specific steps to limit the use of lead in manufactured water system products. The ramifications for cities, as would be expected, are numerous ? affecting both existing and future water system infrastructure, planning and, of course, budgeting.

Underground and out of sight, wastewater collection systems are often taken for granted. In their 2013 Report Card for America?s Infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the nation?s wastewater infrastructure a grade of D.

Thanks to diligent research by city officials into an increasingly popular no-dig water main rehabilitation solution using cured-in-place piping (CIPP), and their successful experience with recent projects that have been completed on time and on budget, it is most likely to continue to be used as a tool to rehabilitate water mains.

Last month, a bipartisan coalition of 10 senators led by U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), introduced legislation for a new infrastructure financing authority to help states and localities better leverage private funds to build and maintain the nation?s outdated infrastructure.

In November, Congressman Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) was named chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. The Subcommittee provides annual funding for most Interior Department programs including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service.

Decision support systems (DSS) for pipeline renewal have mostly focused on asset management to help owners and engineers decide on which portions of a system to prioritize for actions. These models do not typically determine whether to rehabilitate or replace a pipe or how to do it.

In October, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an $8.2 billion bill ? the Water Resources Reform and Development Act ? mapping out plans for dams, harbors, river navigation and other water projects for the coming decade.