Condition assessment of water infrastructures: application to Segura river basin (Spain)

Abstract

The paper deals with the condition assessment of water management infrastructures such as storage facilities, water mains and water distribution facilities. The objective is to develop a methodology able to provide a fast, simple assessment of present asset condition, that can also be used for predicting future conditions under different investment scenarios. The authors investigate the use of different methodologies to assess condition with focus on simple, indirect condition indices based on maintenance records, such as Infrastructure Value Index (IVI) and Asset Sustainability Index (ASI). The novelty of the approach presented is the development of a methodology that combines an asset inventory together with maintenance data, that can be integrated hierarchically, delivering an assessment of condition of elements, assets and groups of assets in a bottom-up fashion. The methodology has been applied to a group of water management infrastructures of the Segura River Basin in Spain. The main conclusion is that the proposed methodology allows to assess assets' sustainability based upon past and current trends in operation and maintenance budgets, providing a baseline for planning future maintenance actions.