USBR Water Pipeline Project

The research was conducted on behalf of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) under Congressional Direction to collect high-quality field performance data of water pipelines (potable, raw, and reuse water) of different materials, including cast and ductile iron, PCCP, reinforced concrete, steel, thermoplastic, and others. The project will aid in the development of a National Water Pipeline Infrastructure Database (PIPEiD) capable of efficiently and securely storing the collected data, conducting performance analysis, and life-cycle economic analysis of the water pipeline infrastructure systems. PIPEiD will help advance the understanding of water pipeline performance parameters as well as the development of reliable models and tools. The ultimate objectives of this federally funded water pipeline performance research project titled “PIPEiD” are to develop an easily accessible and secured database of water pipeline performance and supporting future studies and analyses of the performance of water pipeline infrastructure systems for sustainability and resiliency.

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies and numerous water sector management practitioners have stated an urgent need to have a unified platform for the nation’s water pipeline infrastructure data, information, and knowledge that is universally accessible and useful. A web-based, secured platform - PIPEiD (Pipeline infrastructure Database) is designed to provide access to data sources, tools, and models that enable the analysis and estimation of pipeline useful life based on materials and environmental factors and the ability to model risk and lifecycle economic analysis for renewal decisions. Although research shows that no single data, modelling, or analysis system will meet every need for every user, there is still scientific basis and strength in pursuing complementary efforts while evolving to a more integrated, centralized platform of capabilities where the whole is more than the sum of the parts. New trends and patterns will emerge to help water utilities sustain the targeted level of service with acceptable risk and the lowest lifecycle cost for water pipeline infrastructure systems. PIPEiD will assist water utilities to effectively manage their water pipeline infrastructure systems based on performance, resiliency, and sustainability metrics. PIPEiD will provide descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive data analytics to address three major asset management levels: strategic, tactical, and operational, for water utilities of all sizes across the country. Water Infrastructure Database (WATERiD) is a complementary tool that will help water utilities to find information that will aid in holistic asset management decision-making.

PROJECT GOALS

The overall goal of this project is to develop a standardized database capable of efficiently storing the collected data and supporting studies and analyses of the performance of water pipeline systems. The success of this study will lay the foundation for a national database of water utility infrastructure. PIPEiD will help advance the understanding of water pipeline performance as well as the development of reliable models and tools.

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE

The purpose of this primer is to disseminate the significance and key contributions of the research that was conducted on behalf of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) under the U.S. Congressional Direction. The project aimed to collect and analyze high-quality field performance data of water pipelines (potable, raw, and reuse water) of different materials, including cast and ductile iron, Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP), reinforced concrete, steel, thermoplastic like High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and others. The primer provides high-level guidance that will aid in the development of a National Water Pipeline Database. The database will be capable of efficiently and securely storing the collected data, to allow the user to conduct performance and lifecycle economic analysis to support advanced asset management of pipelines.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This primer is aimed at the water utility managers of small, medium, and large community water systems. The intent is to provide a basic understanding of lifecycle system performance characteristics, standards, and protocols involved in data management. This will allow the user to analyze system performance and present a brief overview of the components of risk and economic analyses performed on the data collected using various analytical methods, tools, and techniques.

RESEARCH APPROACH

The data analysis process integrates data-driven machine learning models, which ignore the understanding of the system, and theory-based models, which often simplify assumptions about unknown physical processes. The research has created transformative data-science knowledge-informed models as shown in Figure 1. The database developed will also have the flexibility to stratify data to perform analyses specific to certain ecological cohorts like assessing performance in highly corrosive versus lowly corrosive soil. Different ecological cohorts are established based on performance indicators using advanced data analytics. SWIMeD online training program has been developed to offer courses for data and models to support the PIPEiD effort.

DETAILED REPORTS ORGANIZATION

This reports are meant to provide utilities and practitioners of asset management with a detailed data based understanding of the life cycle performance assessment of the water pipelines. A comprehensive list of references is provided as a valuable resource for those interested in finding out more details. The research project report topics explained in this research are shown below.

To get the detailed reports, please click here.