Roger Vass

The development of pipeline renewal strategies is a bit like a game of baseball. The quality of the outcome is very dependent on the effort put in at the first base. Once off home base it is a matter of watching the play and getting through the bases. The procedure is fairly straight forward. The all important base is first base.

In this paper I want to spend some time outlining some views on planning a pipeline renewal strategy and in particular the influence that information gathering has on subsequent analysis and delivery of outcomes to the asset owner.

It will also focus particularly on renewal strategies for drainage assets. At this conference there are many papers that deal with rehabilitation and analysis of sewerage and water mains and in many respects drainage assets are largely forgotten. However these are by far the second largest asset item of most local governments, after roads.

Drains are often the poor relation in pipeline renewal. They are often deteriorated and repaired on a reactive basis when a problem occurs or is noticed following cleaning or CCTV work. This approach does not lead to a comprehensive understanding by the assetowners of their service or financial risks in the long term. A network wide strategy should be developed. Fortunately some Urban Councils are now realising this.

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